Jose Carerra of Las Cruces, New Mexico, has been competing at NADD events for the past five years with his American Staffordshire Terrier, K. It’s something he really enjoys when he isn’t running his company, Precision Technology, Inc., which manufactures parts made in the United States for the automotive industry.
“My dogs love dock diving, but they would tear up the Nerf toys every day and I kept thinking they could use better material. It was costing about $20 a day to replace the toys. Then one day, one of the dogs was shaking a bumper, and the strap hit his eye. He was OK, but I started thinking about a better design for the bumper,” Jose explained. “I knew I could manufacture it, but it wasn’t going to be something I could make money with.”
Jose and K (Esoteric’s Special K)
Between Jose’s connections with the owners at the local dog pool, Las Cruces Dock Diving & K9 Event Center, and a meeting with NADD’s Kristen and Steve Powell who travelled to New Mexico to see his operation, Jose was inspired to design a new prototype toy for NADD.
Jose worked with New Mexico State University and the Powells on the design and multiple revisions of the prototype. It was tested at Las Cruces Dock Diving, first tested on a small group, then a larger control group at multiple locations. After receiving very positive feedback, Jose and his team turned their attention to designing and testing the release mechanism for the toy.
The combination of Jose’s professional business and dock diving pleasure, along with his desire to improve safety and the sport overall, earn Precision Technology NADD’s applause and gratitude. The new official toy is expected to go to manufacturing in the near future with release this fall.
Jose’s dog, Rocco (Valentine Bluff Aren’t You Precious Rocco)