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The Air Major® Story My life with a dog by Bill Watters Page 1 of 2 Dog. Canine. Man's best friend. Whatever we call our beloved four-legged companions, who bring us unconditional love, companionship and inspiration, each and every one of us has a story to tell. Mine began Thanksgiving Day in 1985. For weeks, my friend Danny had been trying to convince me to take home a puppy from their mutt's litter. And for weeks I kept saying, "No." Unable to return to Phoenix to share the holiday with my family, and never one to turn down a free home-cooked meal, I agreed to spend Thanksgiving with Danny and his family, and coincidentally, the last of the litter. Positive they planned on sending the runt home with me, I prepared myself with every argument in the book. "What am I going to do with a dog?” “I'm at school five days a week.” “I know nothing about taking care of one.” “No dogs are allowed where I live.” “I can't do it. I don't need a dog. I don't want a dog." When I saw the three month old, tan puppy with the big, floppy ears for the first time, he was holding his position at the sliding glass door, not allowing Danny's three other dogs to push him away. He seemed to be saying, "Look at me. I'm here." His tiny black nose was pressed against the glass and his skinny tail wagged clockwise as he stared in, anxiously watching me as if he knew exactly what he wanted. Me. But I didn't go outside to meet him personally. I told Danny again, "No dog. No way." I just looked at the little runt with the big brown eyes through the glass. “Sorry pal.”
I'd never seen a dog catch a disc before 1986 but I did know about the Frisbee® disc and how to throw one. I grew up in San Gabriel, California, where, in school we learned to throw Frisbees along with dodgeballs, baseballs, footballs and basketballs because WHAM-O® Inc., the makers of the original Frisbee® disc, had their headquarters there. Oddly enough, the house where Major was born is less than a mile from the old WHAM-O® factory.
In early June of 1986, Major and I attended a Flying Disc Festival in Southern California. It was here that dog, disc and man first came together. While watching the human disc Freestyle competition, we were approached and asked if we were there to compete in the disc dog competition. I said no, I was only there to take pictures for my college newspaper. A few minutes later the man came back with a disc and training pamphlet, encouraging me to sign up. Major and I had been together for 7 months and I knew he was a good retriever of balls and sticks but I wasn't sure about discs. I decided to compete anyway, figuring we had nothing to lose. When our name was announced, I rolled the disc and to my surprise, Major retrieved it. I continued to roll it as far as I could, and Major kept on retrieving each roll until they called time. Major won the best small dog award--the first of many competition awards to come. Encouraged to disc train Major, I spent hours with him, perfecting our skills by performing regularly as a street act on Venice Beach. During one of these performances, Major and I were spotted by a production crew and asked if we would come back later in the week for a shoot. We did, resulting in our first regional TV commercial as extras in a Cherry Coke ad. At that time they were paying $50.00, but I m
Major excelled at catching the disc. With high-flying leaps and jumps, he catapulted us into the highest levels of competition for disc dogs, "The Ashley Whippet Canine Disc World Championships®" (1987-1991). During our five consecutive years at the world's, we placed as high as first runner-up. By the time Major was three years old, he had truly earned his wings and became "Air Major, The Flying Dog" a phrase coined by David Letterman. Weighing in at twenty pounds and seventeen inches high, he became the world's biggest, littlest disc dog. And when he competed, he was always the crowd favorite--not too shabby for an All-American Mutt. Tired of living in Los Angeles, we moved back to Phoenix in 1988. We were asked to join The Bare Cover Trick Team, a collection of BMX bike riders, Rollerbladers, Frisbee Freestylers and Skateboarders who performed at fairs, schools and events of all kinds. During our three years with TBCTT, we honed our skills as entertainers and spokesmen. Even the
Air Major's first national television exposure was on ESPN in 1989 that featured the Canine Disc Competition in a program called "Day at the Beach" from La Mirada, CA. This started our 15 minutes of fame. What followed reads like a who's who of the tele
We appeared twice on Late Night with David Letterman, once on his regular show, and again for his Eighth Anniversary Show. During our first guest appearance, Major wowed Letterman and the audience with his high-flying back vault. Letterman dubbed him, on national television, "Air Major, The Flying Dog," an appropriate name that has remained with Major to this day. Also during this performance, David showed his own techniques by throwing the disc to Major. A few months later, while in Los Angeles for Letterman's 8th Anniversary Show, we were heading back to our hotel room after rehearsal when Major wandered through a partially open door on our floor. All set to apologize to the occupants when I retrieved him; I was surprised to find myself in David Letterman's room. Recognizing us, Letterman asked if I wanted to join him for a cup of coffee. I accepted his offer. We had a nice chat while Dave petted Major. Also, thanks to Letterman's generosity after the anniversary show, we now had two rolls of Astroturf to use for other performances. |
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