My name is Groovy, I’m a compulsive Gambler

Notched up another title from PAA Penang after recording my 3rd qualifying run in the Gamblers 1 class … the Gamblers Dog agility title. Sweet, now I can add a new set of initials to my name card: Groovy, M.A.CH., G.D. Other than making my name seem longer than usual, the titles don’t actually come with any privileges or freebies. With a title such as Gamblers Dog, was hoping that I would be awarded a VIP membership in the popular Genting Highlands Casino, but guess I’m still on the waiting list for that one.PAA held marathon agility trials over 3 days from 25 - 27 Oct at the excellent Sri Pinang school field which was just perfect for dog sports. The school grounds was huge with a healthy carpet of grass, surrounded by large towering trees and an impressive colonial style building. There was plenty of space for me to play and runabout. There was so much space that I could even lie in the middle of the grounds while the humans laid out the course. Soon attracted the unwanted attention of the resident guard dog, Jojo the Boston Terrier, who came over to secure his territory. Normally I would have obliged with a couple of my wrestle mania moves but have heard how tough Boston Terriers can be, so I decided to back down. Besides I had more important things to do, like searching for my lost ball.It turned out to be a fruitful event, with Kofi the Curly Coated Retriever achieving his Gamblers title during the same weekend. Also got to see an Akita, St Bernard and Rottweiler in action doing jumpers agility, which was intimidating and exciting at the same time. The Rottie was quick and he took the jumpers class in 19secs. The Akita and St. needed more coaxing and the handlers actually ran with a finger licking KFC drumstick in hand to entice them along!PAA also held the first Open agility class and I recorded a clean run over 2 sessions. Personally felt that the course wasn’t demanding enough, bearing in mind that the Open class is the penultimate class for agility sport. Was expecting to see more side switches, crossovers, U-turns and traps but it turned out to be relatively straightforward courses. Perhaps, we have become too accustomed to the smaller rings and tighter layouts in KL.On the other hand, the Gamblers 2 class was pretty tough with 6 weave poles, a tunnel and U-turn thrown into the closing sequence. I lost the plot on this one and kept running back to Mr Owner while he frantically wave me away to take the obstacles on the outer side. Now, that’s challenging and will have to work on it to have any chance of making the gamble.
In between, I also had time to check out the beaches and soak by the seaside, after some frantic frisbee catching. Bumped into Quinssie and Amber the GRs from Penang and they were having a grand time swimming in the sea. Now, if only KL had a beach, I’ld open my very own surf school.

I love the sunsets in Penang Isle.