If you’ve ever stopped by the Timberlane Pet Hospital & Resort here in Plant City, you may have met veterinarian Christy Layton.
Earlier in the year, Layton’s Australian Shepherd Vegas qualified first in the nation for the 2021 Australian Shepherd Club of America Open Obedience CDX (Companion Dog Excellence) Finals, earning him his spot among 10 dogs that would be invited to the national competition in November.
Once at Nationals in Bryan, Texas, Layton and Vegas’ run of success continued as he was named the 2021 ASCA National Specialty Open CDX National Finals Champion.
Long before Layton’s role as chief of staff at Timberlane and before her relatively newfound love of showing dogs, however, a love of animals was born. When Layton was 13 she received her first Appaloosa and began showing horses alongside her mother at 14.
Layton continued to show Appaloosas until around 10 years ago, retiring from showing after winning multiple world classes with her last horse, a horse that she still has roaming around her pasture today.
“I’m kind of a goal-setter, I always have been,” Layton said. “I think that showing horses all of my life always made me set goals, with my ultimate being to win the world show in a couple of classes. The last year, [my horse] ended up winning two world championships and two reserve championships so I took a step back and said, OK, what else am I going to do?”
After taking some years off from showing, Layton eventually picked the sport back up again five years ago after her mother, but this time with Australian Shepherds. While she had shown some Aussies before — and says that she has always had them in her life — she found herself without one when Vegas entered her life four years ago.
“I think I missed the competition and I missed the camaraderie,” Layton said. “The Appaloosa world is a tight-knit family. All of us that showed Appaloosas together, I’m still friends with them and I’ve been out of it for 10 years now. It was a close family and I think I missed that, the competition, the closeness that you get with the animal when you’re training them. I think that, along with the fact that my mom was doing it. I also missed our weekends together and I think that all of that kind of led me back to showing dogs.”
Layton now enjoys the pace of dog shows, not only working better with her busy schedule by offering closer and quicker competitions that require less intense preparation and travel, but she also notes the bond that it allows her to develop with Vegas, a pet that she not only trains but can also sleep at the foot of her bed and head to work with her every day.
In addition to Vegas’ championship performance, Layton’s mother showed her dog Josi at the national competition as well, finishing fourth.