The Phenomenal Agility Team
of Maureen and Tigger

Tigger competed in her last agility show the 1st weekend of June 2019 in Oceanside, CA at 14.5 years old.

She finished strong, qualifying in 3 of 4 Veterans runs with two Super Q like runs in Snooker as she had a faster time and more points than every Performance 3 dog in both snookers runs. She even earned her Veteran titles in Snooker and Jumpers during this show.

Tigger’s career highlights include:

  • PDCh Platinum (50 Q’s in every event).
  • Life Time Achievement Award – Platinum ( 50 Q’s in every event with at least 500 total Q’s) ending her career with 617 total Q’s.
  • She earned Diamond titles (100 Q’s) in both Jumpers and Snooker with 40 Super Q’s.
  • She was 3 Q’s away from Diamond in Standard before she
    got sick last year and stopped taking the dog walk due
    to her balance issues.
  • Tigger stood on the podium at the first Western Titlemania with a second place in Gamblers out of all Performance dogs by qualifying in all 3 gamble courses. This was especially amazing as the team had historically struggled in Gamblers.
  • She made TOP 10 in 14” and 16” Performance dogs in Snooker and Standard two years in a row at ages 11 and 12.
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PDCH Platinum      

Tigger hit her performance peak between the ages 10-12 (after Maureen retired from her job). This was just before Tigger had a sudden illness of idiopathic vestibular disease just before her 13th birthday. She never quite fully recovered from this illness. A few months later Tigger had two grand mal seizures. However, she was able to do some limited shows and continued training with some modifications.

Dedicated Maureen has worked Tigger’s whole life overcoming adversity between Tigger’s many health and behavioral issues. What they have accomplished together has been an incredible journey. Maureen says “I truly appreciated and enjoyed spending my days with her and achieving every successful milestone especially since I never imagined we would achieve so much. She has brought so much joy to my life that I cannot adequately describe it and will never forget it. She has been the best traveling companion you could ask for even with the skunk in Santa Barbara and bringing fleas home to poor Zippy from California. I will continue to make sure she lives a joyful life for the time I have left with her.”

Tigger was diagnosed with bladder cancer in March 2019. Tigger’s treatments are aimed at ensuring she has the highest quality of life as there is no cure. Maureen says “She is still a very happy girl that loves to take walks, play fetch, eat and bark a lot. Thank you to each of you that have contributed to our success and made this such an incredible journey. I have met such amazing people both locally and on our travels, whom many have become my very good friends. Hopefully, I will be back to the sport in the near future.”

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Tigger enjoying retirement 

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And such an incredible journey it has been for Maureen and Tigger!

Growing up, I rode horses competitively. After I started my family and my technology career, I down sized to dogs. Agility was a natural fit.

I have been competing in agility over 20 years with pure breeds and mixed breeds. I currently have 3 Labs…Cork-12 yrs, Juice-5 yrs, and Fizzy-20 mths.

I have earned multiple championships with different dogs and organizations, and have several AKC Top 25 Agility Dog breed rankings for Labs. I have competed in numerous AKC and USDAA national events with multiple Top 10 finishes and been on the podium at regional and National events. Most recently I was on the podium at the 2023 AKC National Agility Championship finals.

Agility is constantly changing so I regularly attend seminars offered by top national and international trainers to keep my skills current. 

Besides agility, my dogs and I also compete in scent work, obedience, and hunt tests. When I am not training, teaching or showing, I enjoy traveling, scuba diving, and snow skiing.

I’m addicted to training. Watching the “light bulb” moments is such a rush. As dog trainers, we are very lucky to be able to connect and communicate so intimately with a different species. When it all comes together in that one special performance, it makes all the hours of dedication worth it.

My training philosophy is to build a strong foundation in both skills and theory so no course seems too difficult or unachievable. I look forward to sharing my knowledge and experience with GDA students to help them achieve their agility goals.