Lexie

"My name is Liz Dole and I am a veterinarian. I have also been an agility competitor with my Labrador Retrievers for over 18 years. My dogs have always competed at the highest level and have accomplishments at both the national and international levels.

"In the fall of 2014, I noticed that my then 6-year-old Labrador, Lexie, was exhibiting some limping of her right front leg. It hadn’t affected her agility ability—in fact, she had just achieved her Master Agility Championship (MACH) and was still running as fast as ever. I live in Virginia and took her to see Dr. Sherman Canapp for evaluation. Luckily, Lexie had participated in a previous gait-analysis study as one of the normal dogs, so we could compare the new findings with her baseline values. Diagnostic testing showed medial instability of both shoulders with cartilage fragments in her shoulder joints. Surgery was scheduled for February 2015. I told Sherman that my goal was for her to be pain-free. He told me that HIS goal was for her to win again in agility.

"The surgeries were successful, and Lexie came back to the agility ring as fast as ever. She was the fastest dog in the country, of any breed, competing in 20-inch Preferred in AKC Agility in 2016. She won one of the rounds in her jump height at the 2017 AKC National Agility Championship and was a finalist at the 2018 Westminster Masters Agility Championship. She even won High in Trial in Agility at the Labrador Retriever National Specialty in October 2018. In February 2019, she achieved the Preferred Agility Championship (PACH) title and retired from agility in March 2019 at 11 years of age.

"Thanks to Sherman and his amazing team, I got to play agility with Lexie for many more years. I am forever grateful for their expertise and compassionate care."

— Liz