'It's just not the norm': Covington sprinting bulldog among fastest in country, going for top AKC spot

COVINGTON, Ky. — The Tri-State's fastest bulldog has sprinted his way to the top of pup prestige. Now he's about to put his speedy skills to the test and take on the best of the best in a national competition.

Chick is a 38-pound, 2-year-old purebred English bulldog from Covington, though he may not look like it because of his unique coloring.

"I do want to say he is a nonstandard color," his owner Michelle Kinder said. "He is black with tan points, which is fine because he's a wonderful dog."

But his color isn't the only nonstandard thing about him. He can run, and he can run fast.

"I wasn't sure what he'd do and it turned out that he just is nuts about it," Kinder said.

For his breed, Chick is a standout in the competitive world. That's not surprising considering champion blood seems to run in the family.

His brother Chewy, another English bulldog, is a seasoned dock diver registered with the official AKC and CKC organization North America Diving Dogs. He claimed the top spot in 2022 and was named Best in Breed. Dock diving is a sport in which dogs compete in jumping for distance or height from a dock into a body of water.

"He hit 17 feet in September," Kinder said. "He's a wonderful dock diver."

The national average for a bulldog is 12 to 13 feet. Chick isn't far behind his brother in dock diving, having come in third last year.

Michelle Kinder

But Chick is one of the fastest bulldogs in the country and he's got ribbons and medals to prove it. In a pool of two dozen competitive sprinters in his breed, he's ranked third in the Fast CAT event.

Fast CAT stands for Coursing Ability Test, a timed 100-yard dash where dogs run one at a time, chasing a lure. It’s over before you know it.

"I always say it's like the Kentucky Derby — it's over in like 10 seconds," Kinder said.

Chick's clocked a best average time of 19.82 seconds. That means he can run a football field in the same time you're supposed to properly wash your hands. His success has surprised his trainers, who said when the bulldog first walked through their doors, they were skeptical.

"It's wonderful because it's just not the norm," Marilyn Cones said.

Cones serves as board vice president of the Queen City Dog Training Club in Sharonville where Chick takes classes. The club is a member of the AKC and offers trials in obedience, rally, agility and tracking.

"So proud of him," Cones said. "He has a super personality. He's my very special, favorite bulldog."

Michelle Kinder

Because of his impressive ranking, Chick's accolades have sparked the interest of the AKC, which invited him to participate in one of its newest televised competitions.

"When I got the email, I thought it was spam email because I thought, 'Why am I getting something from ESPN?'" Kinder said.

It wasn't spam. That email invited Chick, or Kinder's Chick Mickey Chewbaka Starwars as his professional name reads, to run against a select group of some of the country's quickest canines in Fastest Dogs USA, broadcasted on ESPN.

"I came to class and I was talking to my teacher Judy and she said, 'Michelle, that is really an honor to get invited' and I went 'Oh, OK' because we've never been to a big competition like this so I really didn't know," Kinder said.

Chick will compete on Friday in the all-star invitational show held in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

It'll be his biggest competition yet, but Kinder said the trick won't stop there.

"To go to regionals for dock with both of them and to hopefully get an invite to nationals with dock — that is the goal for this year," she said.

Be it a pool or an obstacle course in his way, the sky's the limit for Chick — Covington's very own sprinting bulldog.

"I don't know what I did to deserve such great dogs, I don't know how they turned out the way they did," said Kinder. "I think it just goes to show that (bulldogs) have such great potential. To be able to harness this kind of energy in them is 100% possible."