Photo by Milton Morris
Lucas Croft
Age: 34.
Hometown: Greer.
Claim to fame: Canine disc dog trainer and competitor with Belle, his 6-year-old all-American dog; operations manager at Palmetto Pet Center.
Other pets: Four other dogs, two seriously noncompetitive cats and a ball python.
Hobby: Woodworking. “I like to make furniture.I just finished a kitchen island and a sliding barn door for my house.”
Sharing the love: Croft founded the Greenville Disc Dogs Club to promote local participation in the sport. For more information, visit facebook.com/groups/GreenvilleTossandFetch.
Lucas Croft and his dog Belle played fetch with a Frisbee for a long time before a friend told him that it was an actual sport with clubs and tournaments and a following of fellow dog lovers that stretched around the world.
For Croft, it was a revelation. He soon located a contest in Macon, Georgia, entered the novice division of the toss and fetch category—and walked away with top honors.
“I got hooked on it,” says Croft, who went on to embrace his (and Belle’s) native competitive spirit by entering other tournaments, competing at higher levels and bringing home even more awards for himself and his canine companion.
The official name of the sport is canine disc, and besides the toss and fetch category—scored on the number of throws and catches executed during a set amount of time—there is a freestyle category with spellbinding creative routines.
These days, Croft competes in both categories at about 18 events each year. And, as one might expect, he is a tireless ambassador for his sport.“As far as dog sports go, it is probably the true stone,” he says. “There is this combination of training and using your own skills—handling discs and throwing them—that really makes this a true team sport.”
Even if people are not interested in dog sports,Croft encourages everyone who owns a dog to take an interest in their pet’s physical and intellectual welfare.
“Dogs are not lawn ornaments,” says Croft.“They are intelligent animals that need a lot of environmental, physical and mental stimulation.”
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Follow Croft and Belle’s adventures and see videos of them in action at facebook.com/MuttsandMonsters.