Truman and I met on January 15, 1999. I remember the date as I had just come down a ladder I was using to take down my Christmas lights.  Reza, my neighbor from across the street, came walking up with this little ball of fluff and asked me if I wanted this little puppy?   The un-named puppy was a gift from Reza's father-in-law but Reza couldn't keep him.  He was on his way to Petsmart to put him up for adoption and thought I might be interested in him.  He was 8 weeks old, had a long body, short legs and huge ears and looked to be a Corgi mix.  Actually, his mother is full-blooded Australian Shepard, and his father is an all American fence jumper.  (The combination of which made him a good dog for flyball.)  Let me tell you, it was love at first sight for both of us.  Since we met, whenever I am home, he is never farther than a few feet from me with his big "Happy Boy" face.  Wherever his "daddy" is, that's where he wants to be. 

When Truman was about five or six months old, I introduced him to flyball.  He was single stepping the jumps the first day.  One problem he had was, he didn't much want to run away from me to get the ball.  Problem two was, there wasn't much interest from the people that ran the team I had been affiliated with, so of his first 20 months, Truman received very little training.  In August of 2000, when I joined Bark In The Park, they saw great potential in him and within a few months, Truman was ready for competition and was racing!  At his first tournament, (Rock-in-Rovers "Woofstock", in Ventura, CA) he ran 40 heats over the two days without a flag.  He was the start dog for the "Yappers" and they got 1st place, both days as he and his teammates, the handlers and box loaders performed well.  It was a very successful weekend for the "Yappers" indeed!

A year later, Truman has close to 7000 points and is as reliable as ever.  This guy is so focused that nothing affects his going to the box and back.  I can walk him out to the course, line him up, and without a warm-up, or recall from the box, he just does his thing!  He doesn't care what lane, what other dogs are in the line-up, or what position he's running.  The only thing he cares about is going to the box (fast) and bringing his "Daddy" the ball.   At 4.5 seconds, he may not be the fastest dog on the team, but arguably; he may be the most reliable.

July 2008

Truman has over 53000 points now and is as reliable as ever.  He turned 9 years old last November and has been racing both in regular and Veteran's divisions.  He has slowed slightly, but still runs in the high 4s to mid 5 second range but will not come back without the ball. Period!  Being the senior "male" member of All American Racers, Truman has set the bar, so to speak for the rest of his team mates.