Not just a brag, not just a stepping stone to a higher title, not just an adjunct to competitive scores, a title is a tribute to the dog that bears it, a way to honor the dog, an ultimate memorial. It will remain in record and in memory for as long as anything in this world can remain. Few humans will do as well or better in that regard.

And though the dog itself doesn't know or care that its achievements have been noted, a title says many things in the world of humans, where such things count.

A title says your dog was intelligent and adaptable, and good-natured. It says that your dog loved you enough to do the things that please you, however crazy they may have sometimes seemed.

And a title says that you loved your dog, that you loved to spend time with it because it was a good dog, that you believed in it enough to give it yet another chance when it failed, and that, in the end, your faith was justified.

A title proves that your dog inspired you to that special relationship enjoyed by so few; that in a world of disposable creatures, this dog with a title was greatly loved, and loved greatly in return.

And when that dear short life is over, the title remains as a memorial of the finest kind, the best you can give to a deserving friend, volumes of pride in one small set of initials after the name.

A title earned is nothing less than love and respect, given and received, and permanently recorded.

-Sandra Mowery

While the titles placed on my dogs are just letters and words, they are markers of what we have achieved together during our time training, competing, traveling, and living.  I am proud of every one of my dogs and everything they have earned, from the least to the most, and offer these short descriptions of each of my dogs as evidence of my love for them and my passion for working with them to be the best that they can be.


Jadzia, CGC, HIC, NDD-R, FGDCh-60K, IRONDOG, TFE-II

Jadzia debuted in flyball on March 13, 2004, and retired on May 5, 2013.  During her career she earned over 61,000 points in NAFA and over 6,500 points in UFLI competition, as well as her Iron Dog award from NAFA for ten years of consecutive competition, with a personal best of 4.31 seconds.  Jadzia also earned her Canine Good Citizen, Herding Instinct Certificate, and Novice Dock Dogs Regional titles throughout her active years, as well as competed and placed in 2004 SkyHoundz local competition.

Hubbard's Curzon Dax, CGC, HIC, FGDCh-40k, TFE-I

Curzon debuted in flyball on October 23, 2004, just two days after his first birthday, and was primarily handled by my husband Chris.  He was our wonder dog, as even after cancer required removal of three of his ribs, he returned to competition and played for another year until its recurrence ended his flyball career on March 10, 2013.  During his career he earned over 48,000 points in NAFA and over 5,000 points in UFLI competition, with a personal best of 3.97 seconds, the first of our dogs to break the 4-second barrier.  I took Curzon to two Can-Am tournaments in 2010 and 2012, where he raced in the latter after his cancer surgery earlier that year.  Curzon also earned his Canine Good Citizen and Herding Instinct Certificate, as well as competed in dock dogs local competition and also competed and placed in 2004 SkyHoundz local competition.

Phoebe Fleck, FDGCh-60k, TFE-III

Phoebe debuted in flyball on October 29, 2005 and retired on February 17, 2013.  During her career she earned over 64,000 points in NAFA and 7,000 points in UFLI competition.  She was known as "The Little Tank" in NAFA Region 7 for her unswerving ability to run as full-time height dog every single day of competition, which earned her the elected award of Most Valuable Player in that region for 2011.  At the time of her retirement, Phoebe was ranked 28th amongst all competing Jack Russell Terriers in NAFA, and she was on the top 250 point-scoring dogs list for 2008 through 2011, as well as being the top point-scoring dog in Region 7 for 2008.

Ignited's Ezri Dax, CGC, HIC, HOBBES, TFP

Ezri debuted in flyball on July 18, 2009, three days after her first birthday, and achieved our lifetime goal of earning the HOBBES title (100,000 NAFA points) on March 31, 2019.  She was my first dog to consistently race under 4.0 seconds and the first to hit a 3.8, with a 3.83 as her personal best in the first sub-16 second team run that I ever participated in.  Ezri has raced in ten states so far, including WA, OR, BC, CA, AZ, NV, UT, MO, IN, and CO, and has been to NAFA Can-Am four times and to UFLI Nationals once.  She was part of a team invited to the Can-Am Invitational in 2010, and along with her sister Indigo was my first dog that ran under 8 seconds in pairs competition.  Ezri has been listed in the top 250 point-scoring dogs for 2010, 2011, and 2013-2019, and was the top point-scoring dog in Region 7 in 2011, 2013, and 2014.  She is currently ranked in the top 30 border collies of all time and the top 100 dogs of all time in the NAFA database.

Ignited's Order of Kahless, CGC, FGdCh-50k, TFE-I

Martok debuted in flyball on March 1, 2014, just two days after his first birthday like his big brother Curzon, and is primarily handled by my husband Chris.  Martok was our first dog to run a 3.7, with a personal best run for me of 3.784.  Along with his younger cousin Sirella under the pairs name Ignition Sequence, Martok won the 2015 UFLI Pairs Championship in Division 1, and was ranked 5th amongst border collies in singles times for that year.  He was also part of the Unorthodogs team that won the NAFA Region 7 Championship for 2015 and 2017, and was part of their club record of 15.310 seconds set at UFLI Nationals in 2015.

Ignited's Mercurial Lady of Qo'noS, FGdCh, TF-III

Sirella debuted in flyball on July 12, 2015, and is my fastest dog to date with a personal best of 3.728 run in September of 2015 and my first dog to run a 3.7 in NAFA competition with a 3.798 on 10" jumps in January 2016.  Along with her cousin Martok, she won the 2015 UFLI Pairs Championship in Division 1 under the name Ignition Sequence, and was ranked 2nd amongst border collies in singles times for that year.  She also was part of the Unorthodogs team that won the NAFA Region 7 Championship for 2015 and 2017, and was part of their club record of 15.310 seconds set at UFLI Nationals in 2015, as well as being on the multibreed team that was ranked 5th in the 2018 CanAm competition.


On Target's Caffeine Free - Sprite

I have handled my friend Kristie's border-staffy mix Sprite as our A team height dog for several years, including getting her personal best of 3.886 on 10" jumps. 

Hob Nob's Lucky Edge - Cricket

I've handled my friend Toni's border collie Cricket in flyball competition for over a year, including keeping her focused and not chasing balls in the runback area - quite a challenge, some days!

Stoverly's Explosive Decompression - Deco

I'm proud to say that I not only came up with Deco's long name before he was brought home by my friends Tami and Paul, but I also ran him in UFLI Singles competition in 2015 which ranked him as the fastest miniature Australian shepherd for that year.

So many other dogs...

I've handled many other dogs, both in my own flyball clubs (Jet City Jumpers 2003 - 2013, Unorthodogs 2013 - present) and for friends on other clubs, that I don't think I remember or can list them all.  While my own dogs are as always my own primary love, I find it fun and educational to run as many different dogs as I can, because each one of them has something to teach me (even if it's just how to avoid getting bitten!).