Border Collies are smart – but who knew they could dance? At this year's Open European Championship for Dog Dancing (in which trainers dance with their dogs), Israeli dog trainer Roni Sagi and her dog Pessah made it into the top 10.
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Sagi and Pessah scored 9th, placing higher than 70 other trainer/canine dance duos from 15 countries.
The pair, who live in Tel Aviv, were trained and mentored in their choreography by Tzachi Melamed, Maya Mashaal, and Anastasia Beaumont.
Video: Israel Kennel Club
This year's competition took place in Germany and is considered one of the most prestigious on the international dog sport circuit.
"This is the first time that Pessah I have taken part in the freestyle event, after practicing for two and a half years. We started working on the dance last January. Since then, we've been working to upgrade it. I decided to fly abroad for the competition in June, and since then, the training has been intensive," Sagi said.
"We ended the qualifiers with a score of 24.13, in the top 10, which put us through to the finals the next day, where we earned a final score of 24.57, 9th overall," Sagi added proudly.
Spokesman for the Israel Kennel Club Tal Yaffe said, "The sport of dog dancing, which has been gaining popularity in Israel in the last few years, is a wonderful example of competition for an inseparable duo – people and dogs. We're proud of and happy for Roni, who graduated our basic course, and her dog, Pessah, for the determination that led to their achievement."
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