There are so many wonderful things about owning a dog, but one aspect that can really elevate your connection with your dog is participating in dog sports. The great news is that there is no shortage of exciting sports you can participate in – including agility, scent work, obedience, and more. Whether doing these activities to a competitive level or simply for fun, it is excellent enrichment for your dog.
Throughout 2026, we’ll be celebrating the enthusiastic individuals who are involved in a range of dog sports and other activities in a series of interviews published here on the Synapse Canine blog. We’ll be diving into their world, learning more about their dogs, and conveying their passion for their chosen discipline. (If you would like to recommend a participant for this series, you can reach out to us at info@synapsecanine.com or message us on Facebook or Instagram.)
In October 2025, we had the privilege to attend the annual Fast CAT Invitational in Wilmington, OH with our Belgian Tervuren, Halo. While Halo’s fastest run of 7.396 seconds (27.656 mph) to earn runner-up in her breed category may have appeared quick, it must have seemed like a leisurely stroll for the fastest dog at the competition – Fritz. Fritz is a Greyhound, handled by David Nevius. Fritz’s fastest time was 5.611 seconds – an astonishing 36.454 mph – earning him the Pure Speed award for Handicap 1 (Height = > 18”).
We wanted to learn more about Fritz and David, so we were excited when David agreed to take part in this Q&A!
David, for any readers who aren't aware, could you give us a short introduction to yourself and Fritz, and tell us some of Fritz's accomplishments in Fast CAT?
Hello, my name is David Nevius, I’m 60 years old and live about 15 miles outside of Atlanta, GA in a town called Lithonia. We have four greyhounds, all who are retired racers (raced professionally at a greyhound track) and one Great Pyrenees. When we take everyone to the events, we always say “One of these isn’t like the others”.
We affectionately call our pack Team Blackie. Here are brief bios of everyone:
Bart, formerly known as Bubba Barx, is an 11-years old male greyhound who raced in Jacksonville, FL and Birmingham, AL. He achieved his FCAT title before aging out of Fast CAT. When Bart was a puppy in 2015, I won a raffle to give Bart his racing name and I was also given the right of first refusal for his adoption rights when his racing career was over. I adopted him in April, 2017.
Blackie, formerly known as Claptons Blackie (named after one of Eric Clapton’s famous guitars) is a 7-year old male greyhound who raced in Wheeling, W.V. He earned his FCAT4 title before being retired due to an injury this past December. Blackie ran at the 2023 Fast CAT Invitational where he placed 6th in his height class and also ran in the 2024 Fastest Dogs USA that was shown on ESPN2. There, he finished fifth. Blackie, when he raced professionally, was owned by a couple who adopted the mother and two sisters of one of our greyhounds, Levey, who is listed below. We adopted Blackie in August, 2021.
Levey, formerly known as Lee Levey, is a male greyhound who raced professionally at Jacksonville, FL. He obtained the title of FCAT before aging out. We adopted Levey in August, 2020.
Fritz, formerly known as Fritsch, raced professionally in the New South Wales region of Australia. He currently holds an FCAT4 title and is still actively doing Fast CATs. Fritz was named after an Australian rules football player Bayley Fritsch. Fritz started Fast CATs in August of 2024 and finished #4 in greyhounds and #6 for all breeds in 2024. This earned him an invite to the 2025 Fast CAT Invitational where he won Best In Breed for Greyhounds and the Pure Speed Award (fastest dog overall). In 2025, Fritsch finished #1 in greyhounds and #1 for all breeds. We adopted Fritz in August, 2024.
We also have a 7-year old Great Pyrenees named Hannah. She doesn’t do Fast CATs. However, she does attend the occasional Fast CAT event to people watch and cheer on Team Blackie.
How did you and Fritz become a team? What is his backstory?
Fritz was born on 1/5/2022 in New South Wales, Australia. There, he raced in eight races there before being “ticketed” multiple times for rough racing. His racing problem was that he would sprint out of the box very fast and race up to whomever was in the lead and run alongside that dog and interfere with that dog’s ability to run a clean race. This racing style is frowned upon so he was retired and placed into an adoption program that brings retired Australian racing greyhounds to the United Stated for adoption.
When we retired Bart, I wanted to add another greyhound to run Fast CAT events with Blackie. I volunteer with a local greyhound adoption group in Atlanta, but there weren’t younger greyhounds available at that time, so I submitted an adoption application with a greyhound adoption group based in Greenville, S.C., called Greyhound Crossroads. I was looking at adopting another greyhound that I saw on their website but by the time I was contacted by Greyhound Crossroads, that greyhound was already adopted. Fritz had just been returned (what is called a “bounce”) to them due to toy aggression and was available for adoption. I looked into his professional racing history and saw that he had a lot of early speed and raced in short straight line races which closely simulated Fast CATs so I adopted him on August 17, 2024.
After I brought him home, I worked on his recall. He was already answering to his call name, Fritz, and responded great to a squawker. In September 2024, I took him to a Fast CAT event in North Carolina for (2) fun runs, a run for practice to see if he would chase the lure. With no formal Fast CAT training, he had a 5.41 second run on his first try. He was hooked after that and the rest is history.
How would you describe Fritz's personality off the track?
Fritz is a very energetic dog when he’s not running Fast CATs. He loves to play with toys. The squeakier, the better.
If I take him to PetSmart, he will try to “steal” toys from the racks and if I don’t pay close enough attention to him, he will grab a new toy and not let go of it until he gets into the car. I have to pull the tag off of the new toy while he holds it in his mouth at checkout so it can be scanned. That usually gets a few chuckles at checkout.
He loves to meet everyone and will try to jump on them to get attention.
How long have you been participating in Fast CAT events (prior to Fritz)? Have you always entered Greyhounds in the sport?
We have been participating in Fast CATs since May, 2022.
Yes, I’ve had four greyhounds who have done Fast CATs but only Fritz is actively doing them now. At one time, we had our Great Pyrenees running Fast CAT but she was only doing fun runs. At the busiest time, we had three greyhounds running Fast CATs at the same time.
Fritz was the fastest dog overall at the 2025 Fast CAT Invitational, which is an amazing achievement. How does it feel to partner with such an incredible dog?
I believe Fritz was the first greyhound to win the Fast CAT Invitational since its inception. Not to mention the first foreign born dog to win the AKC’s most prestigious Fast CAT event. Fritz is truly an incredible dog. Some people have called him a once in a lifetime dog. I only wish the AKC would acknowledge his accomplishments on their social media pages and website. The AKC is yet to post anything about the results from the Invitational on their various social media pages. However, the AKC posts routinely about agility, dock diving and other performance events.
Fritz has his own collector card similar to a baseball card that we pass out to his “fans”.
I’m only Fritz’s chauffeur, head chef, booking agent, and head of his social media department. He loves to do all the work. I truly bask in his accomplishments, and I am definitely a doting dog parent. Fritz is well known throughout the southeast Fast CAT dog world and at events, people often stop me so they can pet and meet Fritz. They tell me that they follow my postings of his race results on the various Facebook pages and enjoy watching him run.
Being from Australia, Fritz created quite a stir after winning the Invitational.
Fritz has a couple of nicknames – The Thunder from Down Under, Itzo, The Blunder from Down Under (when he gets into trouble).
Do you and Fritz have a specific training regimen to prepare for Fast CAT events?
Yes, Fritz has a specific training regimen that includes routine exercise and a healthy diet. On off weeks (weeks he doesn’t have an event), we walk 2-2.5 miles on a local nature trail every couple of days, depending on the weather up to two days before an event. I use those two days before an event as rest days.
On warmer days, I might take him to a local dog park that has a large rectangle fenced dog run where he can “run the fence” (an exercise where the dog park dogs run on one side of a chain link fence and Fritz paces them on the other side of the fence). I don’t run him in a field with other dogs due to his running style (running really close to other dogs and banging into them) that can possibly cause a dog fight.
We live in a two-story house so he runs up and down the stairs several times a day.
As far as food is concerned, I try to simulate a racing greyhound diet. Fritz’s diet includes a high-quality performance-based dog kibble with a pet vitamin, fresh vegetables and plain yogurt in the morning. In the evening, he gets fresh fruit (a mixture of strawberries, cantaloupe, blueberries, bananas) with fresh ground meat in lieu of kibble. A week before an event, he also gets two raw eggs in his breakfast every morning.
Greyhounds are obviously naturally predisposed to running quickly. How much do you think Fritz's success is down to genetics, and how much is down to training and conditioning?
Fritz’s paternal grandfather was the great Fernando Bale who is possibly the best greyhound to ever grace an oval in Australia. I believe that Fritz’s success is due to his insane desire to run which was put in him by all the wonderful people who worked with him in Australia. His trainers did a wonderful job preparing him for racetrack success. I’ve only been in Fritz’s life for about a year and a half, and I try to continue that positive environment. Ask anyone who is familiar with greyhounds – they will only run when they want to run. Otherwise, they’re laying in their dog bed or on your sofa. There’s a reason they are called 45-mph couch potatoes.
Does Fritz have anything else he likes to do, aside from running quickly? Any other hobbies or activities he takes part in?
As I mentioned in a previous comment, Fritz loves to go out and meet his peeps. He’ll do several Meet and Greets in the local community. He’s been to a local RV show, a couple of restaurants who offer outdoor dog areas while their humans enjoy dinner along with several other greyhound events.
As far as Fritz’s hobbies, he enjoys sleeping (sometimes roaching – sleeping on his back with all four paws sticking up in the air), playing with dog toys, chasing squirrels and stealing pillows.
What would you say to a dog owner who is looking for a new dog sport and considering Fast CAT?
Most dogs will inherently chase.
The first thing I would tell them is to read the AKC Fast CAT Rules and Regulations Handbook. When done, read it again. Being familiar with the rules is very helpful.
Next, I would suggest attending a local Fast CAT event or two without your dog to observe the procedures and how the event “works”.
While you are waiting to attend an event without your dog, I would suggest taking your dog to your vet for a full health checkup/screening to make sure that your dog can do what the event requires – run at a 100-yard distance twice in one day.
Once the vet has cleared your dog for competition, switch your dog to a high caliber kibble and begin exercising your dog while working on recall. Regarding the exercise program, start slow and gradually increase the program. Walk your dog 2-3 times a week and gradually increase the distance until you are walking them a couple of miles during each walk. Be sure to check your dog, especially the pads, after each walk to see if they are in any type of discomfort or pad injuries. You can work with a flirt pole, a short plastic pole available on Amazon, and tie a white plastic bag onto it and work with your dog’s prey drive chasing the bag prior to taking them to an event.
If you want to earn titles, your dog will need to be registered with the AKC (American Kennel Club) and have an AKC number. You can register your dog on the AKC’s website.
When you figure out which event you will be attending with your dog, sign them up in advance for what is called a “Fun Run”. A Fun Run is just like a regular run, but it is a lot cheaper than a regular run and your entry fee for the fun run usually goes to a local animal related charity that has been selected by the host club. Don’t be discouraged if your dog doesn’t “get it” right away. Be patient. Sometimes it takes a couple of fun runs for your dog to run like the wind.
What's next up for you and Fritz in 2026?
Right now, Fritz has nothing officially on his plate. We normally don’t run during the winter months unless there is an event close to home. He is tentatively scheduled for an event in Union, S.C. the second week in March because that is one of the two fastest tracks in the southeast, possibly an event in central Georgia the third week in March and runs at the other fastest track in the southeast, Hull, GA the third week in May.
Since Fritz was ranked #1 in his breed for 2025, he will receive an invite to attend the 2026 Fast CAT Invitational that will be held in Wilmington, OH the second week in October. Once the fall starts, we will be getting him back in shape for the Invitational. We normally don’t run here in the southeast from Mid-June to September due to the heat and humidity. During that time, I work primarily on conditioning by short walks. Once the fall arrives, it will be all about getting Fritz ready to repeat as Fast CAT Invitational Champion.
Hopefully this helps everyone learn a little bit more about Team Blackie and our superstar, Fritz.
We would like to thank David Nevius for participating in this interview, and providing the photos included within this article.