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The Labrador Retriever arrived at the shelter and was deemed too crazy to live with. Baron’s constant motion was a challenge even for the college student who fostered him and worked tirelessly to channel his energies into a job. Baron is now a detection dog and a valued Ohio sheriff’s department member.
A Collie entered the training class with a very nervous owner. She explained that he was reactive to other dogs. That first night, Hank erupted and lunged at his fellow students. Hank earned his AKC Canine Good Citizen and Novice Tricks title a few months later. He is training in agility.
Flurry’s owner left her at a shelter and reported she was biting. Research revealed the Border Collie was spending 20 hours a day in a crate. Flurry is now in a foster home where she has developed enough confidence to play with other dogs and her foster mom. She serves as a demonstration dog in a university lab that teaches how to work with fearful dogs.
Baron, Hank, and Flurry have better lives and avoided what could have been a sad ending, thanks to a unique program at Iowa State University (ISU). The Ace Project helps rescue dogs while introducing college students to dog training and dog sports.
The project launched in the fall of 2021. It was the brainchild of professor Dr. Cheryl Morris, a longtime agility competitor.
“I enrolled the first set of students—24 of them—to the Ace Project with the goal of exposing students to fostering shelter dogs, training agility dogs, and other aspects of AKC programs along with service dog training,” Cheryl says.
Students across the university enroll in the course for credit. They can enroll to foster a shelter dog, train their own dog, or assist with training classes.
The foster dogs primarily come from the Midlands Humane Society (MHS) in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
“To date, we have placed 33 dogs out of the program, and none have been returned,” Cheryl says. “Our goal is to get them adopted and not have to return them to the shelter at the end of the semester or have them returned.”
Good Karma
While the program has saved many dogs, she says it has personal meaning.
Cheryl’s journey in dog sports began while she was pursuing her doctorate at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She had a Rat Terrier named Sparky and wanted to do therapy work with him. She started classes at the Dog Training Club of Champaign–Urbana (DTCCU). “They believed my little dog could play flyball and do agility. I had only seen those on TV,” she says.
In 2006, she finished her Ph.D. moved to Omaha, Nebraska, and started work as the Director of Comparative Nutrition at the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium. Also she met her future husband, Danny Morris, there.
The following year, she made a decision that changed her agility career. A trainer at DTCCU told her about a Border Collie in an Illinois shelter.
“I, for some dumb reason, thought I needed a Border Collie, so Danny and I drove all the way back to Illinois to meet her. She had been wandering around a Walmart parking lot. I named her as soon as I saw her—Karma. Danny had bought me a T-shirt on his last trip that said ‘Instant Karma,’ and I was wearing it that day.”
Karma proved to be a fortuitous name for her as she blossomed into a fantastic agility dog. She earned the AKC Master Agility Championship title (MACH), made the finals of the AKC Agility Invitational, and won the 16-inch class at the 2013 AKC Agility National Championship (NAC).
“Winning the NAC with a little unwanted rescue dog was a moment that will last me the rest of my life, likely my proudest moment,” she says. “One of my favorite memories was talking to Danny on the phone as Karma and I were warming up for finals. He was so happy and laughing. He said, ‘The rest is just gravy. You won. Karm came from Walmart!’ ”
Tragic Turn
In 2012, the couple added another rescue Border Collie—a puppy they fostered and fell in love with. Named Ace, he grew up to be a great agility dog and was on his way to Masters titles when Danny fell ill.
“He was diagnosed with Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), and our lives totally changed, and so did Ace’s. Agility became an afterthought. Unfortunately, MSA is a disease that moves very fast. Danny quickly started to lose his balance and speech,” Cheryl says. “Ace had a career change. He became Danny’s service dog with tasks that included helping him balance, coming to get me when Danny needed me, picking things up, and stability. Danny passed away from MSA on July 14, 2020.”
Cheryl moved that fall to Iowa to work in the ISU Department of Animal Science. Then the unthinkable happened in March 2021 when 9-year-old Ace unexpectedly passed away from splenic hemangiosarcoma.
“The loss of them so close together, along with the career change and move, had me in a weird and dark place. Then a student talked to me about wanting to learn more about dog training. As an independent study, she worked with me while fostering two shelter dogs for the spring and summer semesters. We had so much fun together and loved watching both dogs develop.”
That experience led Cheryl to create the Ace Project, named in honor of her beloved rescue Border Collie who helped her husband so much.
Making Good Citizens
The project’s work includes more than rescue dogs. It enables college students to work through issues with their pets.
ISU student Samantha Gibson enrolled for help with her 4-year-old terrier mix, who had “major reactivity issues.”
“The biggest thing I learned was about having emotional intelligence. I learned right away that my dog fed off me, and I needed to be able to control my own emotions for my dog to be able to work,” Samantha says. “I also learned what made my dog react and how I could deter him from reacting.”
By the end of the semester, her dog earned his CGC and Trick Dog Novice titles.
Each semester, the Ace Project has classes for all levels of Canine Good Citizen, plus tricks and agility.
“We work toward every foster dog having the capability to get a Novice Tricks or CGC title by the end of the semester,” Cheryl says. “Students training their own dogs also work toward those goals.”
Rally, parkour, and scent work were recently added to the curriculum.
Cheryl also teaches five outreach agility classes for the community, from foundation through competition levels.
“College students assist with the classes and learn how to course build, bar set, and play the game,” Cheryl says. “The class fees help pay for the costs for foster dogs, including crates, vet care, and food.”
While working through issues with her Staffie-mix, Samantha learned agility basics and caught the agility bug!
She has adopted a young Australian Shepherd, enrolled her in the outreach novice agility class, and started dock diving with both her dogs.
Not all results are happy ones. Some dogs cannot be rehabilitated and placed into homes.
Cheryl fostered a dog named Jersey, who had severe aggression issues. Jersey was in the Ace program for about 10 months without significant improvement.
“She could be fine for one minute, then attack a dog or person the next second. She did both repeatedly. She was euthanized on my kitchen floor with her head on my lap. She trusted me and my vet.”
A graduate student worked with a dog named Tucker, who was very reactive. Tucker progressed enough to be placed in a foster-to-adopt situation but he ended up biting again and was humanely euthanized.
“I remind students of these dogs every semester: how much trauma they suffered in their previous lives, how much love they got with us, and ultimately, how much empathy and care they were shown to end their suffering because chronic mental pain is pain.”
And then there are the surprises. Cheryl reluctantly accepted a 12-week-old puppy named Steeler. He was labeled as “unlikable” and a biter. Soon after arriving at ISU, they noticed a lameness in his rear leg. It turned out he was born with an instability in the leg that caused pain and led to his behavior.
“He 100 percent won all our hearts, and a student adopted him,” Cheryl said. “The students rallied a fund raiser, and he recently had surgery. Prognosis is great. We can’t wait to meet the pain-free ‘unlikable puppy.’ ”
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