Posted: Saturday, December 8, 2007 12:00 am
Dogs catching flying discs, shooting baskets and shagging balls inside the Albany Public Library?
That's right. For about 45 minutes Friday afternoon, the meeting room at the main library on Waverly Drive became a mini-sports arena as Greg Gustafson of Corvallis led his five rescued border collies - Rock, Mr. Black, Forest, Teddy and Rerun - in sports tricks.
About 50 children plus their parents and grandparents crammed into the small room to watch the event. In between the routines, Gustafson used his dogs to give his audience a few quick lessons in manners and etiquette.
If dogs can learn to share their tennis balls and Frisbees with each other, children can learn to share with their friends and family members, he said. Gustafson showed how his dogs know how to wait their turn, just like children should do.
He offered advice, too, on how to select just the right dog. Families should get a dog that fits their lifestyle, Gustafson said. Too many people pick dogs like border collies that are smart and full of energy and bred for herding and working.
"If dogs like that don't have a job to do, they will invent one of their own," he said. "That's not always good."
Gustafson, who with his wife operate Border Collie International, picked children out of the audience to be quarterbacks. Gustafson counted out a cadence and on the word "hike" the kids lobbed a rubber football out for the dogs to catch.
Later, the dogs nabbed footballs Gustafson kicked off a tee, and then he dropped balls near the dogs' heads so the animals could bump the balls up into baskets.
The kids and adults cheered when the dogs did well and sighed when a dog didn't quite make the play.
Gustafson used Forest to show everyone how they could teach their dogs to catch Frisbees and run up onto a person's back and leap into the air to snag a Frisbee held out in front.
The Albany Public Library sponsored the demonstration. Children's librarian Scott Keeney said the library likes to provide interesting programs for children on days when they have no school.
By Cathy Ingalls.