90:/5 Fall 2022 Season Patch

Description

90:/5 Fall 2022 Season

Dog: Keaton (2008 – 2020)
of Tulsa Club member Carrie Williams

Champ: Anthem, Arizona

Complete Season Results

90:/5 Fall 2022 Season Toss & Fetch League Commemorative Patch

Keaton, a CHAMP Amongst Frisbee Dogs
6/4/2008-10/11/2020

Tulsa K9 Frisbee Club Captain Amanda Baur’s nomination of Keaton to be honored on a Season patch stuck out as special – so much so that this Frisbee Whippet is the K9 Frisbee Toss & Fetch Worldwide League’s 90:/5 Fall Season patch honoree.

Keaton the Whippet and his mom Carrie Williams played with Tulsa Club.

Keaton played a lot of backyard disc on the ranch where he lived with his mom Carrie Williams. It wasn’t until late in Keaton’s sporting life that his mom found out about the K9 Frisbee Toss & Fetch Worldwide League, so Keaton didn’t begin competing until his older years.

Before finding disc dogging, Keaton participated in lure coursing and therapy dog work. But when he played disc, he gave it his ALL! He was dubbed “Grandpa Whippet” and won the Tulsa K9 Frisbee Club’s most prestigious “Wunder Dog” award.

After just a couple of seasons in the League, Keaton developed a heart condition and could no longer play. He passed in October 2020.

To be a high-drive Frisbee dog and a gentle-souled therapy dog is to be celebrated – and we’re doing so with the 90:/5 Fall 2022 Season patch honoring Keaton for his life time participation in the CHAMPS Foundation — a program in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma where he helped people with special needs experience the joy of training, bonding, communicating and loving dogs.
Coaches, Handlers And Many Paws – CHAMPS

According to Mindy Stevenson, the Director of the Champs Foundation, “CHAMPS Mission is to offer a program for handlers with special needs challenges where they’re partnered with a coach and a dog, with a goal of learning to train dogs!”

Handlers learn how to communicate, how to be positive and how to interact with a working partner that happens to be fur. “When the handler and dog are successful there is a lot of smiling, a lot of joy and praise for both the dog and handler.”

Teaching CHAMPS handlers brand new skills that will help them in everyday life situations. Benefits include physical, psychological, and social improvements. They learn to stay on task and focus on a task, they learn to follow instruction and to give instruction, they build better relationships with both people and animals.

Currently, the Champs Program is only offered in Broken Arrow, a suburb of Tulsa. “It’s such a worthwhile program that we have plans to one day expand the program – beginning throughout Oklahoma and, hopefully to spur programs like it around the world,” said Mindy.