High-Flying Dogs Visit Garrattsville for Toss, Fetch Competition
By MARIA GRISWOLD
GARRATTSVILLE
On September 10, one of 40 regional K9 Frisbee Toss & Fetch Worldwide Championships was held right here in Otsego County.
The competition originated with Mark Vitullo, an Ohio native. Vitullo’s passion for the sport began in 1977 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It was there that he witnessed his first Frisbee competition for dogs, which sparked his interest in the sport.
Over the years, Vitullo entered his dogs in multiple competitions. The K9 Frisbee Toss & Fetch Worldwide Championship was created in 2015 as Vitullo’s way of making K9 disc sports accessible all around the world.
The annual worldwide championship competitions took place from Saturday, September 6 through Saturday September 13. This competition brings together more than 1,500 teams from 40 regional locations across the United States, Canada, Mexico and Europe.
The local event was held on Garrattsville K9 Frisbee Toss & Fetch Captain Sonja Galley’s property and included teams from the Garrattsville, Bainbridge, and Adirondack clubs. Entrants competed in three rounds of 60-second play beginning at 3 p.m. Team scores are determined by how far the Frisbee is thrown and caught.
“We had 47 teams compete, which is almost double what we had attend last year,” Galley shared. “Teams played steadily through the afternoon and the last few dogs finished their rounds in the dark, with car headlights lighting the field.”
In the K9 Frisbee Clubs Worldwide ranking, Adirondack placed 96th, Garrattsville placed 37th, and Bainbridge placed 19th. Individually at the Garrattsville event, there were winners in each of the Expert, Handler, Junior, and Master divisions. Expert Division winners were Marmite, Toast and Wonder, all competing with handler Jim Delaney. In the Handler Division, the winners were Nanci Miller and Bo, Ashley Sherman and Storm, and Ivan Golovin and Cooper. Junior Division winners were Clara De Dominicis and Roy, Quort De Dominicis and Hoyt, and Wyatt De Dominicis and Jolene. Last but not least, Marmite, Toast, and Wonder were victorious in the Master Division with handler Marlys Delaney.
In conjunction with the dog events, several youths were present representing the Otsego County 4-H program. They served food and collected pantry items and monetary donations for the Butternut Valley Pet Food Pantry.
Preparation for the next season of competition begins on Tuesday, September 30 at 6:30 p.m. in Garrattsville. Newcomers are always welcome. For more information on the K9 Frisbee Toss & Fetch competition, visit https://tossandfetch.com/.
