Showing off
rescue dogs...
 The
Dog Agility Rescue League (DARL) is a league for dogs competing in agility that
have either been rescued or rehomed. As well as having leagues depending on the
grade of your dog, they also have fun leagues including different charity
leagues and a re-homer league as well as a Junior league for younger
competitors. Every year dogs placed to 5th in each league are rewarded with
rosettes and trophies. Lorraine Matthews sent
us this write up on the annual finals which are held every year purely for
members.
With us being a national league, each year we try and move around the country
for our show. This year our finals were hosted by High Peak at their KC show on
the 18th May. There was a great turnout of members, and it was an
amazing showcase of the successes that rescued/rehomed dogs can achieve.
The classes consisted of an Agility run and a
Jumping run with the scores then being combined to have an overall winner at
each grade and height. Therefore, any dog entering had three chances to win
rosettes and trophies from just two runs.
 The
venue this year was spacious, and our ring was set up not too far away from the
main rings, meaning we had lots of support from those competing in the main
show. Even the weather was gorgeous. We couldn't have asked for a better day,
and everyone massively enjoyed themselves. A huge thank you to judge Alan
Jackson, who has been involved with many rescue dogs over the years and kindly
gave up his day to judge for us. Also, a big thank you to all the helpers on the
day. We couldn't have done it without you!
This year our finals were sponsored by
Skinners and every finalist was given a Skinners goody bag along with every
overall winner having a larger goody bag. We also had some fabulous donations -
the best we've ever had. As well as having a general raffle / tombola, we had a
free raffle specifically for the finalists so that everyone also went home with
an extra special prize.
Each year our
members vote for their rescue charity which is how the league charities are
chosen. This year the chosen rescues were:-
- Many Tears
- Morgan's Rescue
- Border Collie Trust
- Dog's Trust
- RSPCA
 Our
general raffle and tombola at the finals raised a massive £990.75 which
will be split and donated to the above charities.
At DARL we just love to celebrate rescue dogs
in every possible way, so this year there was an additional prize at the finals
for Most Improved Rescue. Each finalist as asked to write a little bit about
their dog and its history.
The entries were judged by Sarah
Baines who said, 'Thank
you for asking to me judge these amazing dogs to decide on the most improved. It
has been exceptionally hard to pick just one. I decidedly wanted to pick one
that hasn't just improved in agility - because most have - but also in their
behaviour such as confidence.
'All of these dogs are amazing because agility
is incredible for any dog (not just rescues) to do because it requires a special
relationship between a dog and its owner, but it is even more so where a dog has
had to overcome fears and challenges to just get to that trust to decide that
the relationship is worth it to do more. Not all rescue dogs do.
The dog I chose was
Moo Moo Marabella, owned by Sarah Murray, because her write up
encapsulated so much improvement in Mia despite only being Grade 1. It was never
just about the improvement in agility, and I have no doubt that she will
continue to improve in that, too.'
 Mira's
story
Here is
what Sarah wrote about Mira.
Mira was rescued from the streets of Hungary
by the amazing Hungary Hearts Dog Rescue. She was found with her sister, and
they travelled to the UK on the happy bus together on their gotcha day of 24th
July 2020. She didn't know how to play with a toy, gobbled food and had the
indignity of having to share her new home with a cat!
She learnt to trust us and adapted to being a
pet. She became friends with the cat and even learnt to share us when we adopted
a second dog from Hungary Hearts in February 2023.
I took her to a trainer, Vicky, for some basic
training. Despite her horrible start to life, Mira was eager to learn and soaked
up the positive interaction with familiar people. However, Mira was fearful of
strangers, sudden noises and bizarrely road signs. She was unpredictable and
wasn't ready to try agility.
Fast forward 18 months and Mira had bravely
overcome many of her fears and was more relaxed around people and dogs. Vicky
advertised a 6-week ‘Agility from Scratch' course, and I signed up and so my
life changed forever!
Agility is a rollercoaster with Mira - 80% of
the time I retrieve her from where she shouldn't be, tell her she doesn't need
to parade around the ring checking out who is watching, doesn't need to see if
the scrime has treats or remind her there is a course to follow - and it isn't
just freestyle! The other 20% she is amazing and shows her true potential and
she had some really good results last year. I don't mind which Mira turns up.
The stark truth is she would be dead if Hungary Hearts hadn't found her when
they did.
Mira is living her best life and loves
agility. She is unrecognisable from the dog we picked up in 2020. She has
overcome her fears to enter an agility ring and I am proud of every run she
does, good or bad.
Sarah and Mira were also the overall winners
of Small Grade 1 at the finals.
 Finally,
thank you to this year's sponsors for their generous contributions to prizes.
If you have a
rescued or re-homed a dog who competes in agility, you can enter the league at
any time throughout the year. Please visit
https://agilityleagues.co.uk/darl
or
https://www.facebook.com/groups/172368337853
for more information.
Photos: Various DARL members
More photos from the day can be found on the DARL Facebook page.
First published 29th July 2024
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