Ashley Whippet facts for kids

Ashley Whippet was a super famous dog, a Whippet breed, who lived from about 1971 to 1985. His owner was Alex Stein from Ohio. Ashley was the very first dog to become well-known for playing with a Frisbee. He even won the top prize at the Canine Frisbee Disc World Championships three times!

Becoming a Star at Dodger Stadium

Ashley first became famous on August 5, 1974. His owner, Alex Stein, was a 19-year-old college student. He snuck Ashley into Dodger Stadium during a big baseball game. It was a Monday night game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Cincinnati Reds.

Alex jumped onto the field with Ashley. He started throwing Frisbees for Ashley to catch. The crowd was amazed by Ashley's skills! He could run super fast, up to 35 miles per hour. Ashley also leaped an amazing 9 feet into the air to catch the discs.

This amazing stunt stopped the baseball game. Even the TV announcer, Joe Garagiola, started talking about Ashley's performance. After about eight minutes, Alex and Ashley were led off the field. This exciting show on national TV made many people interested in the sport of disc dog.

Winning the World Championships

The very next year, Alex Stein helped create the first Frisbee Dog World Championship. This was a special competition for dogs and their owners who played with flying discs. It became an annual event, happening every year.

Alex and Ashley were champions! They won the first three world championships in 1975, 1976, and 1977. These early competitions took place at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. They happened alongside the "human" Frisbee championships.

Later, this competition series was named the Ashley Whippet Invitational (AWI). This was done in the early 1980s to honor Ashley.

Featured in Floating Free

Ashley's amazing disc dog skills were shown in a documentary film. It was made in 1977 and called Floating Free. This film was even nominated for an Academy Award! It was in the category of Best Live Action Short Film. The film was about eleven minutes long. It was filmed at the 1977 World Frisbee Championships. It showed all the different events at the competition.

Other Special Performances

In 1977, Ashley performed at Super Bowl XI. He was part of the entertainment before the big game started. He also performed at the White House for a young Amy Carter.

Ashley's Ice Cream Shop

There is a popular ice cream shop called Ashley's Ice Cream. It is located in Connecticut and is named after Ashley Whippet. When the shop first opened near Yale University, it celebrated the history of the Frisbee. The Frisbee first became popular as a college craze on Yale's campus. Students there used to throw pie pans from the Frisbie Pie Company.

Ashley's Ice Cream now has five locations. All of them are in New Haven County, Connecticut. Their biggest ice cream treat is served on a Frisbee! It is called the Downside Watson. This huge dessert has seven scoops of ice cream, nine toppings, and two bananas. Many people have tried to eat a whole Downside Watson by themselves. The shop has been voted Connecticut's best ice cream for 14 years in a row. Ashley Whippet's favorite ice cream flavor from Ashley's Ice Cream was chocolate banana.