All Breeds, All Speeds

We have been hopeful for a long time now that as the pandemic was brought under control, we would be able to return to practices.  Unfortunately, it has become clear to us that for several reasons this will not be possible.  These reasons include:

1) We continue to see the emergence of new variants of the Covid-19 virus that is causing wave after wave of illness.

2) Despite the clear public health benefits, a large percentage of the general population (particularly here in semi-rural Deschutes County) still refuse to be vaccinated and/or take basic precautions such as wearing masks and social distancing. As of today, our county has the highest rate of infection in the state, and we have more cases now than we have at any point in the last two years.

3) There have been many, many examples of threats and physical violence toward people and businesses who have chosen to do the right thing and enforce mask mandates and ask for vaccination status.  We have seen this throughout the U.S., including here in the Bend/Redmond/Sisters area.

We love Flyball, and we miss it tremendously.  The fact remains, however, that we always ran Bend FlyDogs out of our own pocket, at a significant financial loss, so that we could share the sport with others.  As a result, we simply do not want to put ourselves and others at risk, not only from Covid-19 but also from physical harm caused by those who don't understand the difference between "personal freedom" and "being selfish."  It simply isn't worth it.  

Maybe we will be back at some point, maybe we won't.  There is really no way of knowing at this point...it all depends entirely on the  continued evolution of the pandemic, which depends in large part on what the vast majority of the world's citizens choose to do.  

We thank everyone for the support that you have given us over the years, and we sincerely hope that we will see you all again in the future.  Until then, stay safe and stay heal