Agilitynet Rescue Dog of the Year 2011
 Like
a lot of people who get hooked on agility, one dog was not enough for Helen Anderson so she
began looking around for a second dog. She didn’t have a particular breed in mind and began
searching the Agilitynet Rescue page to see what dogs were up for rehoming. That's when she
found Demon, a six month old Kelpie X, looking for a home that would keep him occupied. And now
he is the Agilitynet Rescue Dog of of 2011.
Demon was found as a stray on the streets of London when
he was picked up and taken into Battersea Dogs Home. We do not know anything of his past other
than he was rescued at approx. four months old. He was rehomed once but returned within a few
days as he was too lively for the new owners.
This was when Battersea took a closer look at him and
what he was about. It was thought he was a Kelpie X from his looks and the way he went about
things. so he was advertised on Agilitynet and that’s when we came across him. I contacted
them, and luckily no-one else had enquired about him so we travelled to London to meet him. I
instantly knew he’d be coming home with us!
 We
had to change his original name from Kye, as we already had a dog at home with the same name. I
am fond of dark or evil sounding names (strange I know) so he was re-named Demon
He settled in really quickly and we had no real issues to
deal with other than the lack of any formal training. I began training him at agility at 11
months. He took to agility like a duck to water. His biggest problem has always been his sheer
enthusiasm. With his speed and stride, we have struggled with consistency in clear rounds. He
is not the smartest dog at times so contacts and difficult exercises have proved quite hard to
train.
We have worked hard together to improve and finally got
the end result at Crufts last year when he won the Medium Championship title. Other highlights
have been reaching the Olympia finals in 2010 and the DARL League finals which he won in 2011.
We have just completed a successful Crufts 2012, winning the Singles and the Mixi Pairs finals
and qualifying for the Champ Final!
 He
is the perfect agility dog - calm and affectionate at home, driven in the ring. He is happy to
queue and watch quietly. He is very headstrong so I cannot afford to let him get away with
anything. Our biggest problem has been his lack of respect for the poles and not wanting to
wait. Demon has taught me so much - the biggest lesson of all being patience!
I am hugely grateful to our sponsors James Wellbeloved,
for providing him with his rocket fuel. He has performed extremely well on their foods and has
maintained his glossy coat and great physical shape. Thanks to Vets Kitchen as well for
keeping his joints in top condition with their Active Dogs supplement. With a strenuous
lifestyle I am conscious that I want Demon to remain as fit and as healthy as possible.
Training as always is on-going and I thoroughly enjoy
practising new and more difficult exercises with him. He has become so much more consistent and
he is my dog in a million.
 About
the author...
Helen Anderson is 26 years old and works full time as a PA to the Managing Director of a
manufacturing company. She trains her dogs (and others) as and when she can find time in
between work and competing.
Helen got into agility at 15 with her Cocker Spaniel Asha,
probably because her mum was already competing. Now 12 years old, Asha qualified her for Crufts
twice. Her highlight is reaching the Championship class.
Now Helen is training her eight month old Border Collie
called Neo and she says that as long as her dogs enjoy competing, she will, too.
First published 18 April 2012
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