The the third annual Kentucky DockDogs Splashin’ at the Chaplin competition was held in Perryville over the weekend, and local competitors on Team Gray Ghost, leaped into several events.

Grayson, a Weimaraner owned by Perryville resident and Boyle County Sheriff Deputy Taylor Bottom, had a solid 19-foot 1-inch jump in the big air event, and placed first in the senior jump. He had a 6-foot 4-inch grab in Extreme Vertical; won third place in Top Gun and finished in sixth place in the Gladiator Iron Dog event. Grayson also was fifth-place overall winner. 

Between events on Saturday, Bottom said all of the dog handlers and their families and friends set up canopies in shady spots but still made sure to social distance themselves due to the current coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s still a community or family feel, but with restrictions,” Bottom said. “Like, we give high fives from a distance.”

He said even with the pandemic, it was the largest crowd of competitors that’s visited Perryville, with 200 jumps scheduled.

What made it a special time, Bottom said, was that his friend Jeff Wheeler, from Hampton, Virginia, chose the Perryville event to retire his 10-year-old dog Kahlua from Extreme Vertical and Iron Dog events.

Earlier Saturday, Kahlua made her final Extreme Vertical jump with a 4-foot 6-inch grab.

Bottom said, “It means a lot to me for him to retire her here.”