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Jim Joyce and his wife Bonnie have been avid agility competitors for decades, and their 6 year-old Flat-Coated Retriever, 鈥淪adie,鈥� is following in their footsteps. When she was five, she was already racking up titles across not just agility, but other sports as well. Unfortunately, in the summer of 2023, Jim and Bonnie received devastating news: Sadie was diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma, a deadly canine cancer.

At the time of her diagnosis, Sadie was working toward her second MACH title. And against the odds, she鈥檚 earned it. Despite receiving chemotherapy every three weeks, her illness hasn鈥檛 stopped her from doing what she loves. Sadie (MACH Kaotic鈥檚 Serendipitous Sadie SueCDX SH MXS MJG MXF T2B3 DJ DN CGC) will be competing at the 2024 AKC National Agility Championship from March 14 to 17 in Perry, Georgia, among other top agility dogs.

Two Decades of Agility

Jim and Bonnie have been married for 40 years, and their love for Flat-Coated Retrievers and Golden Retrievers has been a constant throughout their marriage. Twenty years ago, he and Bonnie retired from their jobs as behavior analysts, and turned that passion to dog training. Their interest in human learning and performance seemed to translate naturally into the world of dog training. 鈥淏onnie has been training dogs longer than I have and does hunt training, obedience, agility, and dock diving,鈥� Jim says.

Jim can hardly recall a time when he and Bonnie didn鈥檛 have three or four dogs in tow. Jim鈥檚 introduction to agility was through their Golden Retriever, 鈥淏enny,鈥� who sadly passed away in 2023. He was a successful dog sports competitor, boasting a bronze Grand Champion in the show ring and had a MACH 2 and a PACH title. They went on to do agility with nearly all of their dogs, and have loved every minute of it.

Unfortunately, this is not the first dog that Jim鈥檚 had that鈥檚 been diagnosed with cancer. Prior to getting Sadie, they had 鈥淔luke,鈥� a Flat-Coated Retriever who passed away from hemangiosarcoma at age 7. Jim recalls how much Bonnie enjoyed training Fluke, and thought she had the ideal temperament for agility. They decided to get another dog, and that鈥檚 when they found Sadie. 鈥淪he fit right into the family,鈥� Jim says. 鈥淪ince Benny died, Sadie has been the matriarch around here. She鈥檚 the revered oldest one now.鈥�

Bonnie Joyce

When Sadie was a puppy, Bonnie started her in obedience and hunt training. Around age two, Sadie started competing in agility. A couple of years later, Bonnie said to Jim, 鈥淲hy don鈥檛 you take Sadie and run her in agility and keep her busy and happy?鈥� Since then, Jim and Sadie have been competing in agility, leading up to her qualifying for the AKC National Agility Championship in the 20-inch division. The Joyce鈥檚 Golden Retriever, 鈥淗obbes,鈥� also qualified to compete at nationals and is going for his second MACH.

鈥淎ll the obedience and hunt training is a good foundation for everything else,鈥� he says. 鈥淵ou have to learn to sit and stay until you鈥檙e called. Little things like that make the world of agility possible.鈥� Although Sadie doesn鈥檛 have the same speed and strength as she did before her cancer diagnosis, she鈥檚 still thriving. At a recent AKC agility trial in Tallahassee, FL, Sadie won the Jumpers competition all three days.

Sadie鈥檚 Devastating Diagnosis

In August 2023, Jim noticed that something was wrong with Sadie. 鈥淚鈥檓 pretty in tune with her since I鈥檝e been running her in agility,鈥� he says. 鈥淪he just did not look right.鈥� When they took her to the vet, they discovered she had a liter and a half of blood in her abdomen. Sadie underwent emergency surgery to stop the bleeding. A biopsy later confirmed that Sadie was suffering from hemangiosarcoma.

Hemangiosarcoma is an aggressive cancer that develops from the cells that make up the blood vessels. It tends to spread quickly and may affect the spleen, heart, liver, and skin. 鈥淗er spleen was full of masses from the cancer,鈥� Jim says. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had a number of dogs that have had cancer, because we have always had Retrievers. Especially Flat-Coated Retrievers, Sadie鈥檚 breed, are susceptible to it.鈥�

Typically, the with hemangiosarcoma is weeks to months. With chemotherapy, treatment may extend their life expectancy by months. 鈥淪adie has been on chemo since her surgery,鈥� he says. 鈥淓ven though they removed the masses, the cancer is still flowing around in her blood. Eventually, it鈥檚 going to start up again somewhere else in the body. They consider it a terminal diagnosis.鈥� But over six months later, she鈥檚 still fighting, and her love for agility helps keep her going.

Agility: What Keeps Her Going

In 2019, Sadie was inducted into the . The Hall of Fame honors dogs who are the most accomplished in their chosen fields. Sadie was recognized for her versatility, based on her successes in hunt, obedience, and agility. Sadie got her first MACH title in 2022 at an AKC trial with the Montgomery Alabama Dog Obedience Club in Autaugaville, AL. She鈥檚 now also gotten her MACH2, after she got her spleen removed.

But she wasn鈥檛 always an agility star. When Sadie was younger, she had difficulty qualifying in both Standard and Jumpers since a MACH title requires speed and consistency. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been working on being more consistent, and we鈥檝e done pretty well,鈥� Jim says. He credits her improved performance to her getting older and becoming more mature. In that past, Bonnie would often run and handle the dogs, but Jim has taken to running Sadie generally. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not her new handler necessarily,鈥� he jokes. 鈥淢y wife had trained her very well, and she was very fast.鈥�

Another challenge for Sadie has been staying at the start line. 鈥淲e have to slingshot her. We just send her and go,鈥� Jim says. 鈥淪he鈥檚 a lot faster than any dog I鈥檝e run before and has taught me a whole lot about the sport.鈥� Jim has learned to give Sadie distance and take shortcuts, so he can catch up to her. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to be ready to go and have a good plan for your course because it鈥檚 going to be fast,鈥� he says. 鈥淚f you make a mistake, you won鈥檛 be able to tell her where to go soon enough, and she鈥檒l go off-course.鈥�

When Sadie finishes a run, she comes right up to Jim. 鈥淚t鈥檚 almost like she wants you to catch her, but she鈥檚 too big,鈥� he says. 鈥淪he鈥檚 coming back to say, 鈥楲ook at how we did,鈥� so she鈥檚 fun in that way.鈥� Even after her diagnosis, Sadie competes twice a month, sometimes more, and trains almost every day. 鈥淚 just want her to be happy, and she loves agility,鈥� Joyce says. 鈥淲e鈥檒l keep going as long as she can enjoy the sport.鈥�

Bonnie Joyce

Cherishing Each Day They Have

Jim and Bonnie are trying not to think about losing Sadie. 鈥淲e have no idea how much longer she has,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e devastated by the fact that we鈥檙e going to lose her. In the meantime, she鈥檚 having a great time, and we鈥檙e just trying to enjoy every day we have with her.鈥�

When Sadie isn鈥檛 competing, she gets her energy out in different ways. By looking at her, you can鈥檛 even really tell she has hemangiosarcoma, especially when watching her explore the family鈥檚 35-acre property in Havana, FL. 鈥淭he thing she loves more than anything else is running around the edge of our ponds and making all the frogs move,鈥� Jim says. 鈥淎nd swimming 鈥� she loves to swim. The other dogs love it too, so they鈥檙e out there together. They all get along. They鈥檙e a family and a pack.鈥�

Aside from her doting family, Sadie gets along with everyone. 鈥淪he鈥檚 the sweetest dog you鈥檒l ever find,鈥� Jim says. 鈥淪he loves people and wants to greet everyone and get belly rubs from everybody she meets.鈥� Jim explains she鈥檒l get down on the ground and roll over when someone approaches her.

In the meantime, she鈥檚 not slowing down when it comes to agility. 鈥淭he doctor鈥檚 have said that she鈥檒l tell you when it鈥檚 time to stop, and so far, she hasn鈥檛 told us,鈥� Jim says.