Local dog, Beckett, who can jump real far, is a nationally ranked good boye

All dogs are good boyes, but Beckett, a 2-year-old Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever from Charlottesville, has an official national ranking to prove how good a boye he is.

Beckett, whose hooman mom and dad are Eden and Marc Weathersby, is nationally ranked in multiple water sports by the North American of Diving Dogs, the official organization of diving dogs for the American Kennel Club and the Canadian Kennel Club.

Beckett, officially classified as a Lap Dog – a classification for dogs no more than 16 inches tall – earned national rankings in 2024 in Air Retrieve (fourth nationally), Distance Jump (eighth nationally) and the Hydro Dash (24th nationally).

Our local boye done good was the #1 overall ranked Lap Dog Toller – that’s the nickname for Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers – in each of those events in 2024.

Beckett’s longest jump at a 2025 regional qualifier in Madison County was 22 feet, six inches, as he trains for the NADD National Championship meet in October in the Ozarks.

That long jump compares favorably with the world-record long jump for a hooman, set in 1991 by Mike Powell, who jumped 29 feet, four and a quarter inches.

Powell, of course, has the advantage of being a lot taller than 16 inches tall.

(Wikipedia lists Powell at 6’2”.)

Beckett is doing his best to hold up the Weathersby family name. His hooman sister, Maren, was a state champion swimmer at Albemarle High School who went to the Y Nationals eight times representing the Piedmont Family YMCA before swimming for four years in college at UMBC.

I can feel my wife, reading this right now, wanting me to begin training for our 1-year-old, Griff, who we named after Griff O’Ferrall, the shortstop and leadoff hitter on the 2023 and 2024 UVA Baseball teams.

Griff has a unique blend of athleticism and coachability that I think can lead to success down the road.

I’m referring there to my puppy.

I mean, of course, Griff O’Ferrall is pretty good, too.