Little did I know, I saw Hero the Super Collie’s first public show. I mean, little did I know I was watching a star in the making at the Toronto Canadian Pet Expo – Hero along with dog trainer Sara Carson.

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For five years, Sara Carson ran a dog training facility in Ontario, Canada focusing on dog tricks, obedience, puppy foundation, and agility. But ultimately tricks garnered her international attention.

Flash forward to 2017, and Sara, along with her Super Collies Hero and Loki, are gaining attention from Howie Mandel and Simon Cowell on T.V.’s America’s Got Talent Season 12. Sara and her dogs’ repertoire of tricks earned the Super Collies team fifth place that season, and an invite to appear on America’s Got Talent Champions Edition two years later.

“I wanted to be a dog trainer since I was eight years old,” Sara tells me at after demonstrating Hero’s skills at the DOOG (affiliate link) booth during SuperZoo 2019, an annual mega pet industry in Las Vegas. “My parents thought I was crazy.”

If you’d followed her journey on America’s Got Talent, you’d know that – beating the odds was part of Sara’s back story, and so was her unique bond with her dogs Hero and Loki.

“Loki did really well on America’s Got Talent,” she says, “even though it was one of his first major shows.”

Hero is currently eight years old and still going strong. In addition to Hero and Loki, Sara has three others – all but two are rescued, including Hero who hails from a Peterborough farm.

Any dog can learn tricks, Sara says, but herding breeds like Border Collies are more eager to please. In fact, Super Collies developed an app to teach the average dog owner how – and it’s free to download.

“Teaching your dog tricks is great for both mental and physical stimulation,” Sara says. “And most importantly builds a better bond between you and your dog. The process makes them more attentive to you.

“You see,” she says, pointing to Hero as was talk, “he’s waiting for me to tell him what to do right now, even thought I don’t have treats in my hand.” Treats are a great motivator while poising for fan photos.

Will Sara, who’s currently living in Los Angeles, and her Super Collies be back in Canada soon? “I just got married and am in the process of getting American citizenship, so I have to stay in the country for a year,” she says. “But I plan to be back at the Canadian Pet Expo in 2021.”

Looking forward to the big home coming. In the meantime, check out The Super Collies here and see Sara Carson’s viral wedding video (retweeted recently by Mark Hamill).

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We caught up with Sara and Hero again at SuperZoo, this time performing to music at the Blue-9 Pet Products booth. Blue-9 Training Products (affiliate link) specializes in multi-level platforms used both as training aids, providing a place to ‘stay’ when visitors ring the doorbell, and exercise equipment for jumping-prone pups.

Writer bio: Sherri Telenko has been a professional writer for decades and a travel writer for the last two. She’s a member of TMAC (Travel Media Association of Canada) and Dog Writers Association of America and travels almost weekly with her canine companion, Victoria. Contact Sherri at dogtrotting.net here. All written content is original, written by a person, and based on experience and research. Please subscribe!