Someone passed up an amazing opportunity when they gave up this dog, and we got very, very lucky when we brought her home in September of 2000. Starr was obviously not well socialized in her youth, and insists that other dogs give her plenty of room, which may be how she ended up with Happy Tails Rescue.  But she is far and away the smartest dog that WE have ever known: it's a challenge to find new things for her to learn, and we are always rather surprised when she doesn't immediately understand everything we tell her.

Starr – officially Belle Starr, for the woman outlaw of the 1880s – competed in agility for 4 years.  She earned 17 titles and literally a wall full of ribbons.  She retired from competition last year, at the age of 10, but still does not hesitate to “weave” or “walk it” when given the opportunity, and still loves a series of jumps.

We also took Starr into rally, a dog sport based on traditional Obedience but more complicated.  That was hardly a challenge at all: she qualified for title points, and took 3rd place, in her very first competition – and she would have taken 1st place if her handler hadn’t made a mistake!

In addition to agility and rally, Starr learns tricks with astonishing speed:  spin, play dead, roll over, shake hands (left AND right), go get the ball (NOT a fetch: you can point to any ball), put the ball in the bag (or my hat), take it back (take the ball to the basket for me because my hands are full), back up, and paws up (front paws up on a platform). 

This is our Wonder Dog – Queen of Tricks and queen of our hearts – and we adore her.

Starr lives with Jesse James and with Toby the cat, and with Dan and Marcia.