Rising Stars: Meet Shannon Murray

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shannon Murray.

Hi Shannon, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I have always been involved in dog-related activities, swimming, and dock diving with many of the dogs that have blessed my life with their presence. One of the dog-related activities that have also been a constant and led to what I am doing now is training my dogs for search and rescue.

Our partners and I have been part of the K9 search and rescue team for Mesilla Valley Search and Rescue for over 25 years. We decided to open Las Cruces Dock Diving & K9 Event center back in May of 2019. We would train inside and outside the 10,000-square-foot facility that currently houses the 45 x 22-foot competition pool. I left my job of 25 years in advertising, to pursue my love of playing/working with dogs.

I have been swimming with dogs since I was a kid and now I get to swim with and teach dogs to swim along with Dock Diving, Air Retrieve, and Hydro Dash. The facility itself is like a co-op with various trainers that come in and offer their specialty services, like obedience/manners classes, agility training, scent, and nose work classes to name a few.

We also host many North America Diving Dog (NADD) events throughout the year that ANY dog can compete in, earning ribbons and titles, which can ultimately take them all the way to the national showcase! The American Kennel Club does acknowledge the titles earned via NADD which is an added bonus for some.

In 2021, we had 4 local teams bring back the top 10 ribbons from the 2021 nationals in their divisions! It is truly a fun sport, you can see the dog’s joy on their faces or even hear it from their barking and whining to get on the dock and in the pool!

We have met a lot of AWESOME people along the way, many we now consider friends and meet up with, at dog events around the country.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not been a smooth road. We were not even open a full year before COVID hit and shut us down, like many other businesses around the globe. Luckily, our friend Jim who has been a longtime friend and mentor is our landlord. He is a very kind and generous person and has worked with us every step of the way.

We also applied for a local grant, that we actually qualified for and some that we did not qualify for based on the structure of our company. The grant helped sustain us through our state’s shutdown and restrictions on travelers and business. Now, we are facing inflation and high gas prices that will keep some people from coming.

We do get a lot of out-of-town competitors for the North America Diving Dog Events, they stay in hotels, dine out, and buy gas and I imagine with all the rising prices it might drop some of the attendance numbers.

All of this of course is out of our control, much like COVID, so we just keep plugging along and do what we love to do and try not to worry about what the future holds and take care of what we know we can at this moment in time.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Work is fun, helping dog owner’s to have fun with their dogs, either by learning all the new dock games or by keeping them in good health and shape by having their dogs swim.

It’s low-impact and truly an overall workout for your dog. Plus, they always bring a smile to my face and I’m sure you are guaranteed to leave with a smile on your face as well! What could be better than playing with dogs all day!?

We are known for being the only indoor pool for dogs in the state of New Mexico. We are conveniently located off interstate 10 and not far from Interstate 25 in Las Cruces, New Mexico. We are close to El Paso, TX. We get a lot of dog owners that come up for various training, not just the pool.

We do offer swim sessions for senior dogs along with Dock Diving, Air Retrieve, and Hydro Dash. We are hoping to grow more pet owners into #naddicts which is a term used for folks that are addicted to dock diving with North America Diving Dogs (NADD), it’s a popular hashtag on social media.

We have invited our local law enforcement K9 officers to use the pool, free of charge to learn how to swim and go off the dock, that has been very fun to watch them and their human partners train together.

We have also hosted the Dog Obedience Club of Las Cruces Obedience and Rally Trial, however, that got canceled due to COVID in 2020 and this January 2021 during the new variant. The facility has an Astroturf field and is available for rent for other dog club events, just not the pool.

The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
Sometimes things in life are just out of your control and you just try to do your best, to push through even when you’re unsure of what’s going to happen.

I can hear my mom saying “Que sera sera” and it’s true, the future is not ours to see, but we can certainly be our best and give our best to others.

Contact Info:

• Website: divedogdive.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dockdivinglc/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dockdivinglc
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/DockDivingLC
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGc5Cd6ZqzI
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/las-cruces-dock-diving-and-k9-event-center-no-title?osq=dock+diving

Image Credits
Lisa Bates