Northridge : Dueling Dogs Do More Than Play Dead

Finally, a sport that will probably never make it onto ESPN. Not even at 3 a.m., between infomercials.

It’s a sport in which the rallying song--sung to the music of “Battle Hymn of the Republic”--ends with a rousing chorus of “Dog agility, forever!”

“We are crazy,” admitted Cara Calloway, a spokeswoman for West Valley DogSports, a group devoted to the sport known as dog agility. For the last seven or eight years (DogSports officials weren’t sure exactly how many), the group has sponsored the major dog agility event in the area.

This year’s, held in front of Oviatt Library at Cal State Northridge on Saturday and Sunday, attracted 130 competitors, including some from as far away as the Bay Area and Arizona.

“People who love dogs are in this sport,” said Calloway, the owner of two Australian cattle dogs in the competition.

The competition was divided into three categories. Regular Agility events called for the dogs to negotiate several obstacles, such as a wooden A-frame, a teeter-totter and tunnels. Jumpers events included a leap through a mounted tire and over a fence.

Finally, Gamblers was a kind of free-for-all, during which handlers tried to get their dogs through as many obstacles and jumps as possible in a set amount of time.

There were different competition categories, according to size, age and experience of the dogs. By the end of the competition, more than 100 ribbons had been given out.

Both pedigrees and mutts competed side by side, on an equal basis.

“It’s the most fun you can have with your dog legally,” said Kevin Ryan of Los Angeles, a dog agility trainer, after running his Corgi, named Cybill, through a course.

And just in case you thought this was a wacky, Valley-only sport, the local event was held according to the rules and regulations of the North American Dog Agility Council (NADAC), headquartered in St. Maries, Idaho. Similar events are held in several states.

The local match--a high-spirited, good-natured affair during which both winners and losers were lavished with attention--was for a good cause. The entry fees raised more than $1,000 for the library, said DogSports President Paul Kirk, a retired Cal State Northridge linguistics professor.

His wife, Mary Finley, is a librarian at the Oviatt, which was hit hard during the 1994 earthquake.

Finley wrote the two songs performed at the event, with Kirk accompanying on accordion. In addition to “Dog Agility Forever,” she set her plaintive “Oh, My Good Dog” to the tune of “Oh, My Darling Clementine.”

“Oh, my good dog, such a good dog,

Runs the courses so divine . . . “

Spuds McKenzie would have loved it.