A Mountainside Adventure

Joy in the Journey: Elizabeth Dott and her four Border Collies

Have you had some interesting adventures on your way to a trial or event? Share photos of your adventure with a brief description by emailing news@usdaa.com for a chance to be featured in our year-long OVERview series! As thanks for sharing your stories, each competitor will be given a Purina^® Pro Plan^® plush kennel towel (while supplies last).  

On her way home from the Cynosport^® Dog Agility World Games Presented by Purina^® Pro Plan^® in Tennessee last year, Elizabeth Dott of Apopka, Fla., decided to take her dogs on an additional adventure in Chattanooga. She found a state park with a beautiful mountain overlook, and a group of people told her about a path to the lake at the bottom. Elizabeth set off with her four Border Collies: 11-year-old Status, 6-year-old Legacy, and Status’s daughter and son, Rebel and Valor.  

“Picture it – one woman and four Border Collies on leash going down the side of a mountain. It was crazy!” Elizabeth said. “I had to take them off leash; the path went straight down with only jagged rocks for steps.”  

With Rebel and Valor running ahead and Legacy and Status sticking by Elizabeth, everyone made it safely down the mountain to enjoy the lakeside. The people who told her about the trail even cheered for her when she joined them at the bottom.  

“There were some people passing us with hiking sticks who looked at me like I was crazy,” she said. “I just thought, ‘Oh, no big deal, we can make it.’ Sometimes I was on my hands and knees, but we managed to make it down and back up again! It was quite an adventure.”