I was a next-door neighbour to someone whose main claim to fame is being editor for, among other film and television projects, Atom Egoyan films. Her "other" life is basically having her dogs run agility courses similar to this. If I ask her about the Canadian entertainment industry or talk about things other than dogs and dog jumping, she barely shows or even feigns interest.
I understand the neighbour has a country residence to get away from her primary career. I just don't understand how someone who's worked with people like Egoyan and David Cronenberg will downplay that in favour of the least interesting part of her life. That's why I'll always empathize with dogs like Tinks.
My aunt and uncle used to participate in retriever trials. When they were actively competing, that's what they talked about. The level of investment you need to have in an animal to get it to perform in even a basic trial is huge. To the point where I have met people who I'm pretty sure cared less about their kids than my aunt and uncle did about their dogs. And that's what was required for outdoor trials where the dog is doing something pretty natural for the breed. I can barely imagine how much effort it would take to get a dog that can run an agility course in an arena under lights.
Point is, she's not downplaying anything. That is the most interesting part of her life. She's probably confused why anyone would care about these people she works with who would need a great groomer, and a specialized diet and exercise regimen to just get them up to breed standard, much less have them run a proper agility course.
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