Spotlight on Senior Dogs: Heather Witt-Sullivan and Rowan

Dynamic duo brings home World Championship gold.

Heather Witt-Sullivan, of Easton, Conn., and her senior Shetland Sheepdog, Rowan, made their first international competition memorable when they traveled to The Netherlands for the IFCS World Agility Championships this summer. The duo took top honors in the 12” Individual Gamblers, earning their first and Team USA’s only gold medal.

“Making an international team was a secret dream that actually came true,” Heather said. “The event itself was so much fun! Interacting with the other teams was wonderful. Watching the competitors step to the line and lay it all out was a thrill. The podium ritual was a blast, and hearing my dog ‘sing’ the anthem with us was comical.”

Heather has been training dogs for over three decades and teaching agility for three years. She and Rowan made their first World Team when they were selected for IFCS in 2020, but pandemic lockdowns kept everyone home that year, which kept them from competing. Since then, they served as First Alternates for this year’s European Open in Belgium and earned one of Team USA’s four medals at IFCS.

At 10.2 inches tall and 8 years old, Rowan has a careful routine to stay active and trim. Both Rowan and Heather do warmup walking and stretches before running a course and have a cooldown routine before Rowan is crated. Rowan gets a prepared raw diet, “Primal,” with a bit of sweet potato to keep her under 6.5 pounds. She hikes off-leash, runs on the beach, and does sprinting games with Heather to maintain her fitness, and also gets regular chiropractic adjustments and Antinol® daily.

“Getting the gold was a wonderful experience and a bit of a relief,” Heather said. “Like, we went all this way and proved we deserved to be there. It’s quite an accomplishment for my tiny dog, especially when she competes against dogs who are taller than her.”