At almost four years old, Roxie is a rising athlete with a natural spring in her step and speed in her stride.
The Labrador retriever and Louisiana Catahoula leopard dog mix competes regularly in flyball tournaments and agility events with the support and coaching of her owner, Cassy Scrima, area director of marketing for Marcus Hotels and Resorts.
Roxie and her team, Milwaukee Dog’s Flyball, travel throughout the Midwest to compete in flyball tournaments. In the tournaments, two groups of four dogs speed through “a dog relay race,” Scrima said. Each dog must complete a series of four jumps in a straight line before hitting a box at the end, where they retrieve a ball. As one dog makes its way back over the jumps to the start line, the next dog prepares to take off.
“The goal is for those dogs to pass at the start line nose to nose perfectly without any gap,” Scrima said.
The first team that cycles through all four dogs wins. Each tournament features up to five heats, and dogs are awarded titles for their victories.
Roxie and Scrima also compete regularly in agility events in the area. Obstacles include tunnels, teeter-totters, weave poles and dog walk planks.
Together, Scrima and Roxie work on agility and flyball three days a week in training classes on top of personal practices in their backyard. Scrima’s other dog, five-year-old Remi, often tags along.
“It’s one way to completely shut off my brain and dedicate my time to my dogs and not think about work – which everybody needs that balance,” Scrima said.
