What do you get when you combine an 11-year-old boy with an Australian Shepherd and a frisbee? In the case of the Flemming family, you get a competitive disc dog team. They’ll be the first to tell you that there are many things that will cement the relationship between a human and an animal, and that bond is priceless. In the case of Nik Flemming and his disc-loving dog, ReyRey, that bond formed in this competitive sport. Through it, Nik and Rey have been winning nationally and internationally and having fun in the process.
A Special Bond
For most kids and their dogs, a simple game of fetch includes a ball or Frisbee™ and some backyard fun. Nik and his dog Rey, 4, have taken that flying disc fun one step further and have joined a competitive dog sport called disc dog.
Disc dog competitions are held nationally and internationally and allow dogs and their human handlers to compete as a team in disc-throwing events, such as toss-and-fetch, long-distance catching, and loosely choreographed freestyle catching. The sport, which traces its competitive roots back to the 1970s, highlights the bond the human-dog team has as it requires them to work completely together. The term "disc" is preferred since "Frisbee" is a trademark held by Wham-O for a brand of flying disc.
Nik, a fifth grader at Governor Miffin Intermediate School, lives in Brecknock Township with his parents, Ann and Patrick, and his sister, Krystina, 13.
Ann says her son has always loved all of their animals. But Rey and Nik have really connected as a team. “Watching them on the field, grow together in the sport and learn to work together, has been fun,” she says, adding that it makes them all very proud as well.
An Adoption Story
So how did Rey (also known interchangeably as ReyRey among other nicknames) come to live with the Flemmings?
Over the years, Ann says they have had many adopted animals. “Most of our animals have background adoption stories,” she reveals. “ReyRey is our most recent true adoption.”
Prior to ReyRey, Ann says they had numerous cats and kittens “show up” as strays: a German shepherd they named Hannah, who required open-heart surgery, and a rescued miniature donkey who works as their outdoor security system.
In the case of ReyRey, Ann likes to say that the dog chose them.
“A friend and our canine disc co-captain, Sheri Pauley, had been volunteering at the Animal Rescue League of Berks County when ReyRey was surrendered,” she explains. “We are [both] border collie people so her picture was sent to her immediately.” Rey was listed as a border collie mix.
Sheri forwarded Ann the photograph, and as soon as Ann saw the dog’s eyes, she knew ReyRey needed to belong in their family. “She stole my heart immediately,” she says.
Sheri fostered the dog after she was spayed until all of the Flemmings’ adoption paperwork was completed. In October 2016, when ReyRey was 10 months old, she finally came home to the Flemmings.
“We always say ReyRey has two moms,” Ann says. “My post from Facebook when we adopted her reads, ‘Sometimes we search for a new dog, but sometimes a new best friend finds us when we least expect it.’”
And ReyRey and her young handler have something special in common. Nik was adopted, too.
“Nikolas was 20 months old when he was adopted,” Ann says.
In fact, both of the Flemming children are adopted.
“Krystina was born in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan,” she explains. “My adoption journey started with her in 2008. She was 16 months old when I first met her. Kyrgyzstan closed their international adoptions program that year.”
While she continued to advocate for Kyrgyzstan adoptions and for Krystina to come home, Ann’s heart was open to pursue a concurrent adoption.
“In December 2009, a red-headed little boy's photo came through my email, and I knew immediately he belonged to our family,” she says. “Nikolas, or Kolya as we called him while he was little, was born in Novgorod, Russia. My mom and I traveled to Russia on a whirlwind trip in June 2010 to bring him home.”
Krystina finally joined them in August 2012.
“My husband and I were married in November 2013, and he officially adopted both children in January 2014,” she says. “Yes, adoption is a real common theme in our house.”
Disc Destiny
But how exactly did Nik get involved in this sport?
“Nik started throwing discs to my border collies as soon as he arrived in America,” Ann laughs. “He joined me on our earliest disc sessions with Matt Repko of MidAtlantic Disc Dogs (MAD Dogs). He was in a stroller at the start line at a Frisbee expo in March 2012.”
Competitively, Nik started as a junior handler on the international toss and fetch league. Nik and Rey consistently finish in the top 10 junior handlers from all over the world.
But it wasn’t always like that.
Ann says that when Rey first came home to them, she was afraid of everything that moved. “Originally, we were told ReyRey was a border collie/Australian shepherd mix,” she says.
But ReyRey’s recent DNA test concluded she is all Australian shepherd, a breed of herding dog that needs a job to do. So pushing Rey’s fears aside, they began to work with her.
At first, Rey learned to chase a soccer ball. Then a visit with her former foster mom completely broke through her fears. “When she was visiting with Sheri and her dogs, Sheri was throwing discs, and Rey just followed and became interested,” Ann says.
And the rest is, as they say, history.
Now, Rey has developed natural talent and a passion – and obsession – for her discs, Ann says.
Canine disc as a sport is growing quickly in popularity, with several competition venues around the country.
“Events vary from a simple 60-second timed round of distance throws to freestyle routines, which are basically choreographed tricks and disc catches in time with music,” Ann explains, noting that Nik, being a big fan of Star Wars, uses the song The Saga Begins from “Weird Al” Yankovic for his choreographed routine with Rey.
And more recently two of the different championship competitions created games that challenge both the dog and the handler. Skyhoundz offers spot landing and a game called Bullseye. UpDog offers games that combine disc and agility for even more challenges.
It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to participate in disc dog competitions, Ann says. “Many nights, Nik practices tossing discs with me, and he gets some confidence-building and pointers from fellow MAD Dog teammates and other junior handlers,” she says.
Nik throws in a weekly International League Toss and Fetch. In October, the Toss and Fetch World Finals were held in different locations around the globe.
“Nik and Rey placed 3rd overall in the junior division,” Ann says.
Last summer, Nik and Rey traveled to Tennessee with Ann and her mom, to compete in the Skyhoundz World Championships. They finished in 4th place in the Junior Division.
Currently, Nik and Rey play in Mohnton with Reading Disc Dogs, which Ann and Sheri co-captain together. Nik’s dad and Sheri’s stepdaughter and grandson also compete on the team. “The club is hoping to find new members and a bigger field as the sport continues to expand,” Ann says.
Locally, Rey and Nik will be found at Jim Dietrich Park in Muhlenberg Township over Memorial Day Weekend. Regionally, the whole team competes in Maryland and Virginia, hoping to qualify for the Skyhoundz World Championship in Tennessee and possibly the UpDog World Championship in Atlanta in 2021.
“Playing disc with a dog is a fun and exciting way to bond with family and any dog who is interested in the game of fetch,” Ann says, adding that the best part of becoming involved with this sport is the friendships and camaraderie that form with people from all over the world. “The first rule of canine disc is ‘Always have fun with your dog!’”
And Nik and ReyRey are doing just that and winning along the way.
