Contestants flock to NARC competition in Ronan

Kerry Lavin estimated she traveled a thousand miles to participate in the National Amatuer Retriever Club, an event held June 15-22 in Ronan.

Lavin, the Anderson, California native and her dog FC AFC PepperJack’s Marsh Surfer, who answers by the call name of “Dude,” travel to multiple events during the year.

For Lavin and “Dude,” it would be an insult to refer to the multiple competitions they enter each year as a hobby. These competitions are held all over the country including states such as Missouri, South Carolina, California and many others. Canada is also another place they are held.

“Dude” has carried momentum with him through various competitions that showcased his overall athleticism, agility, vision and intelligence, and they continued with this momentum in this competition, just like any other athletic event.

“We’ve taken good care of him, and he is physically sound,” Lavin said. “This competition is tough on the dogs physically, and it can be stressful when they travel. They don’t sleep as well or eat as well, a lot of them are drinking different water and they train along the way. Once we get to our destination, it can take a toll on the dogs.”

Fortunately for “Duke,” he gets plenty of time to recuperate, and he has his professional trainer, Misty Melo, who owns her own training facility in Texas.

“He gets to go to the whirlpool and relax his muscles, he has laser treatments, because he has a couple of sore spots and that gets him feeling good,” Lavin said. “On the road, it’s great that we have some awesome vets for the dogs.”

“Dude” still has a long road ahead of him in what has become a promising career. This year, “Dude” will turn 6, with the average age of most retrievers of all breeds participating in this event being seven- or eight-years-old, which means he still has yet to enter the prime of his career.

“He’s trained five to six days a week, and when he isn’t training, we like to do roading and keep him physically active, but we give him one complete day a week off,” Lavin said. “Dogs by nature are lazy animals, and they want to take the easy route. They swim across and don’t run around it. They require daily maintenance, and once they are trained up, it’s constant maintenance on those types of things.”

Lavin has developed an emotional attachment traveling on the circuit and going to various retriever competitions throughout the country.

“It’s an awesome hobby,” Lavin said, tearing up. “This is like a family reunion, and they support each other. It’s just great to come to a place like Ronan, and it’s gorgeous. Every week, before you start competing, it’s a grind. It’s very tiring and emotional. It’s awesome and supremely rewarding because you don’t get any money for, this just a ribbon.”

Misty Melo, who is “Dude’s” trainer, got involved in training when she was 18-years-old.

“A friend of mine who was a firefighter in California and a captain knew I was into dogs, came out and threw birds with me, and the next thing you know, I am getting my dog,” Melo recalls.

Melo, who was injured on the job, decided to transition to working with dogs full time after she couldn’t continue on her career path working with the fire department.

“You are on the road a lot,” Melo said. “You can’t go on vacation, or do anything unless you find someone you trust to be with the dogs. You have to the right person to stay back with the dogs, and that is very hard to find. We have to be with them all day every day, seven days a week and spend a lot of long hours with them doing field trials, and we are away from home a lot.”

Melo and her husband are on the road at various retriever competitions year round, and in the summertime, they travel to Minnesota and Wisconsin.

“It’s an entertaining sport, and it’s rewarding, especially, when you have a good dog like “Dude,” Melo said. “He’s a fun dog, and a super talent. He is a just a great athlete, he always had a good attitude and definitely is one of the better dogs I have on my truck. He is a good character and a clown, and he is just a lot of fun.”

The National Amatuer Retriever Club is an organization devoted to all breeds