Rufus was adopted from the Wichita (KS) Humane Society on August 9, 2003, the last dog in the large dog kennels. Kate drove him home to downtown St. Louis and taught him about concrete, elevators, and unexpected city noises in short order. With Rufus, Kate dabbled in sports from competition obedience to rally, agility, and later racing and lure coursing. Standing 14" at the shoulder and with a length of 48" nose to tail, people asked about what Rufus "was" (Dachshund-Lab mix) his entire life. In his 16 years, he helped raise countless dogs, a human child, and served as a therapy dog, helping children learn to read at a YMCA in St. Louis. Rufus made friends everywhere he went. He is deeply missed to this day.

Shirley came to Team Canidapt with the goal of competing in scent sports, and we're sure having a blast doing it. Shirley went to the 2023 NASDA Invitationals as 2022's #1 Basset in Shed Dog and the #3 Basset in Lost Item Recovery.

Since she began competing in NASDA in October 2022, she has earned Level I titles in all 5 core NASDA disciplines (Lost Item, Shed Dog, Urban Locate, Trailing & Locating, and Trailing Brace), becoming the first Basset Hound to achieve both her Versatile Locating-Bronze and Supreme Versatility-Bronze titles.

Shirley is currently working towards competing in traditional scent detection sports as well as mantrailing.

Shown with (L-R): NASDA Judge Martha Metzler-Ghofranian, Owner/Handler Kate Peterson Koch, NASDA Judge and Training Partner Sarah-Jane Petti, and NASDA Judge Penny Scott-Fox.

Photo by Meaghan West.

More information about Gilda coming soon.

Disco completed her Canadian Championship at the age of 17 months in April 2023, and is also currently competing in NASDA sports, where she has titled in Lost Item Recovery and Urban Locate, and continues to compete in those events as well as Trailing & Locating. Our hopes are for Disco to become a founding breeding dog in 2024.

​

Shown with handler Katie Fraser.

Photo by Tripdog Photography.