A veterinarian is hoping to make a splash in Helena with dog dock diving. Dock diving is a competitive sport where dogs jump from a dock into a body of water. The sport is divided into three subsets: distance jumped from the dock, height of the jump, and how fast the dog can retrieve a toy from the far end of the pool.
Veterinarian Autumn Harris first heard about dock diving from a friend back in 2017, and right away, she knew it was something her dog could jump right into.
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“And I was like, ‘wow, she would really love this, she would really enjoy doing this,’” Harris said.
Autumn says dock diving is more than just fun. It also helps strengthen the bond between a dog and their owner.
“I love anything that allows owners and their dogs to be able to bond together,” Harris said. “I love that, and that is definitely what the sport of dock diving does.”
Over the years, Autumn and her dogs have won a number of dock diving distance titles, and they’ve even been invited to nationals.
Now, Autumn wants to bring the sport to Helena.
Right now, the nearest dock diving pool is in Billings, around 175 miles away. That makes it hard for Harris and her dog to train regularly.
“And I think that more and more people would be involved in dock diving if they had the ability to practice with their dogs,” Harris said.
There are some obstacles to overcome before a pool becomes a reality.
One of them—the cost. One of these specialty pools costs about $20,000, but support from the community is what pushed Autumn to get the fundraising ball rolling.
“And honestly, it's been really overwhelming,” Harris said. “The number of people that have reached out to me on social media, that have reached out individually, that have already been willing to give donations to get the pool off the ground.”
Once the pool is built, Harris says it will host dock diving events and lessons, and just be open for people and dogs to enjoy.
More information about how to support this cause can be found here.
