Lily 'The Flying Fox' Corgi sprints to success
SHELBY, Ohio (WCMH) -- On a hot Saturday in July, a field in Shelby, Ohio, was full of cars, campers, and dogs.
“Up next, Lily the corgi!” a woman radioed from one end of a fence-lined sprinting track.
A wire gate creaked open, and in walked Nancy Carey holding a fluffball in her arms. As small as Lily was, her sharp bark would stop anyone in their tracks. So would her smile. A corgi smile is something to behold.
“Let’s go, girl!” Nancy said sweetly.
She put Lily on the ground, facing forward, staring down the straight-shot line she was about to take on, chasing a white grocery bag on a wire. Nancy got down on the ground on her stomach, took off the leash, and then held on as tight as she could while Lily began to bark and get excited.
“Tally ho!” yelled out one of the timers.
“Go!” followed Nancy, and off Lily went – in a dead sprint chasing the bags on the wire like her life depended on it. Another solid time in her FastCat sprint competition. That’s right: FastCat, a sport for dogs.
"At this stage in my life, to have ever thought that there would be something, like, so dynamic and interesting and that I knew nothing of!” Nancy said about the sport that had sprinted Lily onto the national scene. “Nothing of!”
Nancy isn’t a corgi rookie. She’s been adopting the breed since the 1980s.
In spring 2024, her sixth corgi she’d owned, named Lily, died. Shortly after, she got a call about a corgi puppy needing to be rehomed. Her name was also Lily. It seemed too good of a fit to be true.
But Nancy had never met a corgi like her new Lily.
"She was a handful!” she said with an exasperated laugh. “She is the smartest and most athletic and agile that we've ever had. Rather than saying she's too much for us, what does she need?”
That became Nancy’s mission: to find a way for Lily to get a humongous amount of energy out of her little body. She got connected to “The Gated Dock,” a facility that provides dog training, but also dog dock diving (jumping into water) and a FastCat space for sprinting.
Lily was a natural.
"She's a high-drive dog,” said Marie Buckingham, who owns “The Gated Dock.”
“Working line dogs are herders. That's what they do for a living. So she needs a job. She needs something to do."
It didn’t take long for Lily and Nancy to see potential turn into placement.
"At the end of her first weekend, she was 10th in the country,” Nancy said with her hands in the air as if to say, “Who knew!?”
Now, many know. In 2024, Lily finished third in the country in the American Kennel Club’s FastCat competition for Pembroke Welsh Corgis. That qualified her for this year’s Fastest Dogs USA in Georgia, that would be aired on ESPN2.
In May, in front of a national audience, Lily sprinted to second place.
A dog that some would have called onerous just needed an outlet.
"FastCat is an entry-level sport for new people, pet people primarily,” Marie explained. “It burns energy. It makes them use their mind. So they're burning mental energy, which makes them a tired dog. And tired dogs are good dogs."
"Don't be intimidated!” Nancy said when asked what advice she would give someone who is interested and new to FastCat. “Just tell people I'm new. Can you help me? Ask questions.”
Marie said the benefits for the dogs go beyond ribbons and rewards. FastCat can help create a healthier lifestyle.
“I also think it increases the bond between owners and their dog,” she said.
“We are a country of obesity. Unfortunately, it is the way it is, and the dogs are suffering for that too, between treats and food, and busy parents. So FastCat is, you know, running, and that's a great sport. Sometimes folks don't have enough room in their backyard to run their dogs, so they can bring them here and let them run and enjoy it and do something fun."
“Do it for you and do it for your dog!” Nancy encouraged.
Nancy also encouraged potential dog owners to find a breed that fits their lifestyle.
"Her first owners are really good people, but her time and energy demands did not match their lifestyle. You get a breed that matches your family,” Nancy said. “Then consider adopting from a rescue organization, just because there's a lot of really great dogs out there that are just waiting for that home.”
She reached down to pick up her Lily and added, “I call her the magic carpet ride. You know, we adopted her to give her a home, and yet she has given us so much life."