When Victor Villalobos, Shannon Murray, Nancy Chanover and Steve Stochaj met over 25 years ago while training search and rescue dogs, they never could have imagined where their love for canines would take them. Working in the fields of marketing, advertising, astronomy and electrical engineering, respectively, the four were ready for a change and jumped on the chance to rent out the empty space they were using to train and turn it into the dock diving facility of their dreams. Las Cruces Dock Diving was born in 2019 and has since become the premier dock diving facility in New Mexico, offering training, private lessons, turf rentals, NADD-sanctioned competitions and more.
“Victor and I got involved in 2001, when we attended our first dock diving event, the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge in San Francisco, with our Golden Retriever Coda,” Shannon said. “Nancy and Steve got involved with NADD in 2011 at Yellowstone Dog Sports in Roberts, Montana, with their dogs. Fun fact, the Las Cruces Dock Diving logo is Shannon and Victor’s Golden Retriever, Ruby, jumping off the dock at YDS.”
Las Cruces Dock Diving boasts a 7,000-square-foot turf field, two indoor bathrooms and a commercial size dog sink. Their field is primarily for clients, but also available for rent to dog clubs who would like to host events or trials. An in-house photographer and skilled facility judges are just a few additional perks for competitors at Las Cruces Dock Diving.
“We’re the only dock diving facility in the state of New Mexico,” Shannon said. “The dock is indoors and runs year-round; the pool is 45 x 22’ and is heated during the winter. People can bring their dogs to learn how to swim and everything else that NADD has to offer in the way of competitions. We also have a trainer here who runs her own business, Cloud K-9, offering training in obedience and agility.”
In their first year open, Las Cruces Dock Diving had four members go to nationals and place in the top 10 in their divisions. In addition to training clients and hosting competitions at their top-notch facility, Las Cruces Dock Diving offers complimentary swimming and dock training to local police department K-9 units multiple times a year.
