Local girl to appear in America’s Top Dog

By JD LONG

HARRISON COUNTY – A local celebrity is about to emerge when America’s Top Dog (ATD) begins a new season Wednesday with the first episode that will feature a Harrison County native, the daughter of Mark and Laurie Chisnell, Sara and her dog Sue.

Sara said Sue is the “Most well rounded versatile dog I've ever dealt with, has won multiple best in shows, competed in a wide array of sports from dock jumping to hunt tests to even the sport of Schutzhund which was created for German Shepherds.”

Sue is a seven year-old German Shorthaired Pointer and Sara’s best buddy and the two have what she called an “incredible bond.” Sue has also served as the unofficial therapy dog at Coshocton JFS. And she’s also received some training for Sue with the sheriff of Coshocton County in the aspect of bite work.

Sara, a member of the 1998 Cadiz High class, learned from local Gold Star Kennel owner Kay Moore when Sara was in the third grad. She has roots in Harrison County’s 4-H and is Currently the attorney for Children Services in Coshocton County.

“She helped prep me and this dog for an obedience competition last year,” she said of Moore in a prepared statement. “[And] I love German Shorthaired Pointers.” She said she regularly trains with the Buckeye NAVHDA chapter at the Mingo Sportsmen's Club, and where Sue has qualified for the September NAVHDA invitational in Iowa.

“Sue has a big social media presence, we were encouraged by many people to apply, after many interviews we were invited on in August,” Sara said of ATD. “We don't have the agility experience many teams did and we were in the middle of intense hunt training.” She compared ATD to the American Ninja Warrior show but for dogs as they perform various stunts testing their speed, agility and teamwork, as explained on the official website (aetv.com/shows/americas-topdog).

Sara and Sue traveled to California last September where her companion had his own seat on the plane ride out and “flew as a celebrity.” They had the whole weekend together where they roamed Malibu and had a great time.

“This was an experience of a lifetime, had our own trailer on set and just had an amazing time,” she said of her experiences. “[I] Met a lot of cool people and dogs.”

The show featuring Sara and her dog, whose show name is Abbe Lane's A Boy Named Sue, is set to air this Wednesday for episode 1, June 29 at 8 p.m. on the A&E Network.

Harrison County native Sara Chisnell shows off her dog Sue (Abbe Lane’s a Dog Named Sue) for the upcoming Wednesday show, America’s Top Dog (8 p.m. on A&E). Sara described the show as American Ninja Warrior for dogs. Sara is a Cadiz graduate and a current attorney for Children’s Services in Coshocton County.

Lakeland Academy Community School Superintendent Scott Bardall says that they updated their playground with addition of a rubber-based playground surface. Several students volunteered their time to update the playground area. Students who volunteered the most time were: Max McIntire, Brennan Jones, Gauge Trimmer, Gavin Arigoni, Kaden Wood, Hayden Duncan, and Christopher Powell-Wade. The end of school field day was held with Trisa Bardall having "Wacky Water Day."

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