Rugby 101

Morey was introduced to the great sport of quad rugby this weekend. This was one of my areas of concern, because I spend so much time at practices and tournaments. Some of the dogs I have had have gotten very worried when they hear all the crashing and banging and see me out on the court in the middle of all of it. However, like everything else, he just took it all in stride.

When we first arrived at practice, Morey was off leash and walking next to me. When he saw one of the other players he hurried up to walk next to him. I think he was confused by seeing so many people in wheelchairs! Everyone was very impressed by how calm and obedient he is, just adding to his Texas fan club!

Once we starting rolling on the court, he was very attentively watching everything going on. The first few crashes made me very alert, but I came over every few minutes to reinforce his down stay and then he settled back down. Two of the women on our support staff went over to sit by him, so for most of the practice he had unlimited belly rubs, ear scratches, and cuddling. Not a bad introduction to rugby!

At one point, I came over a few feet away and could tell he was watching out on the court looking for me. Once again, too many wheelchairs for him to keep track of! He will be going to our tournament in Dallas next weekend with 6 teams (approximately 50 wheelchair users) so I will have to keep his leash on him so he won't lose me! I'm just kidding really, even with all the distractions and people, Morey remains focused on me and responsive to whatever I ask of him.

My coach asked when he was going to get some UT gear...guess that's next on our shopping list!