Sandra Rodehaver Davis

Sandra Rodehaver Davis passed away on May 4, 2023, at age 86 after suffering two strokes. She was born in Vallejo, CA, but raised in El Paso by parents Sam B. and Gladys Rodehaver. Her early interests included ballet and horses. She graduated from Austin High School and was a Maid of Cotton contestant. After attending Texas Western College (UTEP) briefly, in 1955 she married Ralph “Skip” Scoggins and they had four children together. She was then married to Michael I. Davis, Ph.D., from 1976 until his death in 2013.

Sandra returned to UTEP in 1973 to finish the degree that she had started two decades earlier. As with everything that she did, this was done with total dedication. She was inducted into a number of honor societies including Alpha Chi, Alpha Lambda Delta, Kappa Delta, Phi Kappa Phi, and Mortar Board and was one of eleven selected for Women of Mines. She graduated with a BS Degree in Secondary Education in 1976 as one of the Top Ten Seniors.

Always an animal lover, her interest in horses was rekindled in the early 1970s when she acquired several American Saddlebred horses that she showed in English and western riding competitions, as well as dressage and jumping.

In the 1980s and 1990s Sandra devoted much of her time to helping the animals at the Humane Society of El Paso. She started out doing dog assessments and grooming, and then developed a pamphlet for all adopters with easy-to-follow transition and training guides for integrating their new family member into the household. Sandra started the first Volunteer Training Program for the Humane Society and was also involved with many of the fundraisers throughout the years.

Sandra’s true passion was dog training and competitions. She began competing in AKC conformation in 1956 with her first Great Dane, who was the first of many champions shown and bred by her. She was active in the El Paso Kennel Club and co-founder of the Great Dane Club of El Paso. In 1981, Sandra switched to obedience competitions and achieved her first Obedience Trial Champion (OTCH) title with her Standard Poodle, Gambol. This was followed by an unmatched succession of OTCH titles on thirteen more dogs over the next forty years. These OTCH titles were accomplished with seven different breeds, including her Standard Poodle, five Border Collies, three Giant Schnauzers, two Dobermans, a Springer Spaniel, a Golden Retriever, and a Jack Russell Terrier (that she adopted from the Animal Rescue League). She retired from obedience competitions in September 2022 holding the AKC record for OTCH titles achieved on the most dogs.

In additional to obedience, Sandra was instrumental in bringing Agility competitions, which had started in Britain, to the U.S. in 1984. She developed adjustable equipment that accommodated both her Standard Poodle and Michael’s Dachshund. She put on demonstrations throughout the Southwest to introduce Agility, which became a recognized sport by AKC in 1994. In 2003, she was inducted into the United States Dog Agility Association Hall of Fame – Pioneers of Dog Agility.

Sandra’s next venture was Canine Musical Freestyle, otherwise known as dancing with your dog. She heard about this new sport that had started in Canada and taught the movements to her Border Collie, Pepper, and her Giant Schnauzer, Jabba. Her years of dance training served her well in choreographing the dances. She and Pepper performed their first dance routine at the Humane Society of El Paso’s annual Beauty and the Beast Fashion show in May 1995. This was the beginning of many freestyle performances across the country over the next eleven years, including two performances on Animal Planet's Pet Star and a performance at the Calgary Stampede in Canada. To assist those interested in learning about this new sport, Sandra created three instructional videos, as well as the Dancing with your Dog book, which are still being used today.

Always looking for ways to support and enhance the canine athlete, in 2002 Sandra combined her affinity for dog training with her prior horse interests to create a new dog sport called K9 Dressage. Along with that she developed demonstration and training DVDs.

Michael shared Sandra’s passion for dog activities and, until his death in 2013, was her traveling companion and biggest fan.

Sandra is survived by her four children, Valorie Foster, Julie (Ray) Rutledge, Melanie Baily, and Blake (Melissa) Scoggins and stepdaughter, Paula (Scot) Tomitz; grandchildren: Bryan (Saralyn) Foster, Colin (Kaleigh) Foster, Sean Foster, Kyle Foster, Cassandra (Alex) Hernandez, Malorie Baily, Philip Baily, Emerson Scoggins, Elliotte Scoggins, Ivan (Niki) Tomitz and Colton Tomitz; six great-grandchildren: Ember Rodriguez, Julia and Luiza Avila, and Hannah, Noah and Elizabeth Foster; and brother, Sam C. (Barbara) Rodehaver.

A Celebration of Sandra’s Life will take place at The MonteVista at Coronado, 1575 Belvidere St., at 2pm on Monday, July 10th.

If you would like to make a memorial contribution, please consider the Humane Society of El Paso.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.FunerariaDelAngelMartin.com for the Davis family.