A veterinarian finds strength in her favorite sport of agility and the support of her AKC Agility League team while battling cancer.
By Penny Leigh
(This article originally appeared in AKC Family Dog magazine.)
The Douglas County Fair is much anticipated by the folks who live in this scenic area of Colorado.
The week-long event includes a rodeo, livestock shows, and dog and cat competitions, plus all the music, rides, games and food that you could hope to find at a fair.
The Krueger family was ready for the 2022 event. Kim Krueger loaded up her dogs, goats and children and was on her way. She was in a great mood and feeling fine as she drove her sons and her pack to the fairgrounds. Then her phone rang, and she heard the last thing she expected: she had cancer.
“I was diagnosed on Aug. 1 with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma Grade 2. I had no symptoms. It was found on a routine mammogram. It was in a weird spot that was hard to palpate,” she said.
Instead of canceling the fair plans, Krueger and her family proceeded with all their competitions and fair fun.
“It was a great distraction while I got all the testing done to have my surgery. My son competed in conformation, obedience, rally and agility,” she said. “I had surgery on Aug. 22 when my kids were starting their third week of middle school.”
The veterinarian and animal chiropractor took the month of September off work to recover from surgery, but, much like she stuck with the fair plans, she continued competing with her Bearded Collies.
“I decided to keep running agility while undergoing treatments because life goes on. My dogs still needed exercise and stimulation,” Krueger said. “But mostly I needed a reason to get up and keep training them. It was one of the best decisions.”
Krueger has been involved with dog sports for more than 30 years and discovered the Bearded Collie while in high school.
“My Mom and I rescued a dog that we adored but realized she needed training. We were hooked, and I got her CD,” she said. “We saw a Beardie at an obedience trial and loved the look of it. We got one! She had the funniest personality. They are such smart dogs.”
Krueger had the first Bearded Collie in Colorado to earn both an obedience title and a herding title, which she achieved while in veterinary school in the mid-90’s. Her current agility partner is River, who is 8 years old and also a therapy dog who visits cancer wards and infusion centers.
“River is my heart dog. She would lay in bed with me when I felt so awful,” Krueger said. “But she was always ready to go run agility!”
Along with continuing classes and trials, she joined a team with the new AKC Agility League program and that became the best therapy for keeping a positive attitude.
“I was so excited when I was invited to join the team,” Krueger said. “It was a time when I really needed something good, and it provided that for me.”
The League teams are composed of three to eight dogs and compete on their home fields or at their local training facilities. They run six courses over the 12-week league season along with other teams around the country.
She became a member of the Golden Star Golden Girls of Sedalia, Colorado, which competed in the Limited division, featuring shorter courses for smaller spaces.
“I have known a lot of the agility people since I was a vet student in the 90s. They are my friends. Some days I couldn’t even run but that was okay,” she said. “I walked through the course and somehow made it. It was a time when I could escape being a cancer patient. I got to just go run with my dog and hang with my friends.
“I love that the program has different levels. I was thankful there was a limited course. I could handle that!”
Krueger ran in all six rounds of the League competition without missing a course while undergoing radiation treatments, which ended a week after the League fall season concluded. She and River won the AKC Agility League Clean Sweep award for completing every round fault-free. But the real prize is that her health has steadily improved.
“I am doing pretty well now. I take a daily aromatase inhibitor. I had some really bad migraines and struggled during the month of January,” she said. “We added acupuncture into my treatment plan. That has helped me tremendously.”
Her dogs were a powerful motivator to keep going and get outside, even when she felt ill.
“I feel having our dogs helps us be more positive about life. They are so excepting of us and always happy to see us,” she said. “…Every day I feel better and have more energy.”