Ron Godshall feared when his right leg was amputated in 2020 that he would no longer be able to do agility, a sport he had come to love as much for the bond he shared with his beloved Giant Schnauzers as the one he had with his agility classmates.
After 57 years working with dogs, Ron, of Sellersville, Pennsylvania, was at a crossroads. An infection had settled in his leg that was prone to poor circulation due to diabetes related to Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam while serving in the Marines.
He and his wife, Bonnie Godshall, had bred, owned and handled show champion Giants for nearly 30 years. Their kennel prefix, R-Bon Giants, a blend of their first names, was associated with a handful of Best in Show winners. More recently, agility had become an ideal sport for Ron to enjoy with their retired show dogs.
Besides facing life challenges of having his leg amputated, Ron wasn’t sure how he would get to his medical appointments after surgery. During the pandemic, few ride services were available, and his wife was not able to drive him because of poor vision.
A friend from agility class, Heather Eckenrode-Stiffler, came to the rescue, covering all the bases.
For starters, Heather, of Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, drove Ron to nearly all his doctor appointments.
“After an amputation, there are many appointments,” she says. “Ron needed help, and I was thankful to be able to take work calls from his driveway and in parking lots after his appointments, which gave me the flexibility to take him and do my day job.”
A new puppy in Heather’s life named “Franco” (Franco Moments Of Greatness And Joy) rode along on the five-hour, round-trip medical appointments. Heather lives about one hour from Ron, and the doctor appointments, usually in Allentown, Pennsylvania, were a half-hour away, plus the extra time for loading the wheelchair.
An All-American Dog, Franco, named for the former Pittsburgh Steelers’ fullback Franco Harris, is Heather’s third agility dog over 14 years in the sport. She began training him in basic agility as a pup.
“It was apparent Franco found great joy in running,” Heather says. “He loves to be fast.”
Not long after Ron’s amputation surgery, his Giant Schnauzer, “Maxie,” his last one, passed away. Ron realized not only did he have to learn how to use a prosthetic leg and wheelchair, he now had no agility partner. Still, one of his goals during rehabilitation was to resume agility.
Meanwhile, Franco had become fast friends with Ron.
The wheels were turning in Heather’s head: Why not see if Ron would try running Franco in agility?
“Ron was so bummed that he was no longer going to be able to compete and that his connection to the dog agility community would be lost,” Heather says.
Thus began Ron and Franco’s journey as agility teammates.
Franco started learning to take agility cues from Ron as he used his wheelchair, while also training in classes with Heather.
A gamechanger for Ron and Franco has been participating in the Regular Freshman Division of the AKC Agility League, thanks to Heather suggesting they give it a try.
“A friend invited me to come when their team ran, and I knew immediately that this was going to be a great way for us to work on skills that Ron and Franco needed,” she says.
In fall 2024, Ron and Franco were members of the High Octane Moonshots team in Colmar, Pennsylvania. Excited to have finished in 11th place in the 16-Inch Regular Freshman Division, they now are enrolled in the Winter 2025 Season.
Team captain Maureen Burke, owner of the handicapped accessible training facility, says, “Ron is very skilled despite using a wheelchair. Franco definitely listens to him.”
“League gives participants who have physical challenges more opportunities to practice in a competitive setting,” says Penny Leigh, Director of the AKC Agility League. “They can practice the course before running for an official score – and rerun the course – and that is very valuable.”
Learning to Cue Off Wheels
Franco’s training prior to joining the AKC Agility League involved taking classes with Ron at the Keystone Agility Club in Barto, Pennsylvania, and with Heather at UDog Agility in Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania.
Ron was learning to maneuver an agility course from a red mobile scooter that had a wide-turning radius making it a challenge to turn tight at fast speeds.
Despite the scooter’s drawbacks, “they were becoming quite the team,” Heather says. “In order to take it to the next level, especially when running on dirt, Ron needed an upgraded electric mobility device with improved turning radius, speed and maneuverability.”
Heather, along with several of Ron’s agility friends, organized a fundraiser in the summer of 2023 to buy him a more functional wheelchair. Hence, Ron traded in the red scooter for a new $8,000 zero-turn, high-performance sport wheelchair to use in agility.
“What a difference that made,” Ron says.
“In agility, we are constantly looking at what the dog’s path should be to get the fastest time,” Heather says. “In Ron’s case, he is literally riding the line. Adding the wheels of the chair into what Franco is cueing off and the fact that one of Ron’s arms needs to be on the controller at all time makes for a complex communication scheme.”
As Ron and Franco began dabbling in competitions, a couple of areas needed to be polished – the start line and the finish.
“Franco can be very independent,” Heather says. “I knew by having Franco work with both of us, we would not be as consistent with training criteria. But that’s OK. This journey with Ron is more important and impactful.”
In the beginning of training with the red scooter, Heather would enter the ring with Franco to unhook his lead. With the new wheelchair, they began training the start line without her and found Franco was not focused.
The solution came in the form of a command, “Load.”
The wheelchair has an extended footplate with room for Franco to enter the ring riding at Ron’s feet. Once they get inside the ring, Ron has taught Franco to “sit stay” until time to begin.
Meanwhile, it was taking Ron about 10 seconds to reach Franco at the end of a run, giving the ambitious agility whiz time to notice distractions.
“He would look back at me and seem to say, ‘I guess I can do what I want,’” Ron says. “He thought it was a game, but it became a bad habit and we worked to desensitize him. Now, I say, ‘Franco, come load.’
“The last two months, Franco has really been paying attention to me in the ring and actually looking for me. I am still behind, but not nearly as far as I used to be.”
Their success in Agility League has been motivating.
“The first season was even more awesome than we had hoped,” Heather says. “The team aspect is really fun. It took us a few weeks to get a clean run, but since then, we’ve had a clean run every week.”
Ron agrees. “The best thing we have done is join the League,” he says. “We get to run around and be competitive and also work on things we need to work on. Plus, the help we get from teammates is great.”
Looking to the future, Ron hopes he and Franco will master the skills to compete at the third annual AKC Agility League National Championship in September 2025 in Pendleton, South Carolina.
“It’s very impressive what this young dog has been able to do with Ron when they only get to see each other an hour each week at class,” Heather says. “They have become an amazing team bringing joy to each other and everyone who sees their teamwork.”
