Dog taking agility skill to New York City stage

SAUGUS – Chris La Voie won?t be taking her American Eskimo, Becca, out for the average weekend stroll this weekend.The Saugus resident will be dodging obstacles in the ring alongside her four-legged friend at the Westminster Kennel Club Masters Agility Championship in New York City on Saturday. Even though La Voie competes with Becca just about every weekend, she said this will be a big televised event as one of the most well-known clubs in the country.Becca has been competing in agility contests since she was one and a half years old and training since she was only nine months old. “Becca was very athletic as a puppy, always running in the woods. She led me to believe she would be good at agility and enjoy it,” said La Voie. “We just started competing and next thing you know, we?re competing every weekend.”La Voie owns a dog walking and pet sitting company called A Walk in the Park. She has another American Eskimo named Kouri who is only six months younger than Becca. La Voie said Kouri has competed some, but not as much as Becca.?Becca seems to love the sport. She really enjoys it,” said La Voie. “Kouri seems to be in it for the treats.”Lucky that Becca brings home enough ribbons for the two of them. She has so many from the competitions that La Voie stopped accepting them. “After you compete so much, you have so many,” she said. “They were in a box under my bed, but the box got full.”When asked why she keeps competing if not for the prizes, La Voie said it?s really just about the fun. “The most fun part is when you finish with a good, fast run. It?s kind of exhilarating,” she said.