'Tripod Jake' flies in face of disability
DESPITE his nickname, Tripod Jake is a fully mobile three-legged friend who doesn't let his disability get the better of him.
The black labrador has shown that he can beat the best of them to become a flyball champion and now has an award to show off to his doggy friends.
Jake was just six months old when he was involved in a car accident which damaged a nerve in his shoulder.
His front leg was paralysed and his owner, Sue North, agreed with the vet to leave it for a while to see if it healed.
But six months later, Jake got an infection which meant he would die unless he had his leg amputated.
Sue, who lives in Healey Close, Batley, said: "At the time I didn't want him to be a three-legged dog but his leg had just become this lump that he was dragging around. Once his leg came off it was like he was free and he adjusted really quickly."
It was when Sue took Jake along with her other dog to an open day for flyball – a relay race over obstacles – that she saw how much he wanted to take part.
She said: "Both my dogs are obsessed with tennis balls and Jake sat there barking because he couldn't do it.
"When Jake had been a puppy he had been for obedience classes but he hated it because he couldn't take his ball with him so he thought it was boring."
So friends suggested trying Jake at flyball and he immediately took to it. Now, aged seven, Jake competes with able-bodied dogs half his age.
Sue said: "He races in a relay with four other dogs against other teams, triggers a box to release a tennis ball, catches it and comes back over the jumps.
"Every dog Jake competes with and beats is four-legged. As the shows go on you get more points and when you've got 200 you get an award, which he has just been given. He and his team managed to get the fastest time in the last race.
"They've actually done better than teams with all four four-legged dogs on."
Jake trains with Paws 8, in Wakefield, and competes with the Mansfield Marnicks Flyball Team.
But he's not just an all-action dog and Sue says at home he's a softy.
She said: "He's really mild mannered. He's very intelligent, fun-loving and he's a really gentle dog, a typical labrador."
For more on the Paws 8 flyball team visit www.freewebs.com/paws8.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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