ALEXANDRIA, Va., Nov. 6 -- United States Patent no. 12,457,993, issued on Nov. 4.
"Agility hoop" was invented by Stacey Ann Hoffman (Lititz, Pa.) and Andrew Ryan Hoffman (Lititz, Pa.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A breakaway hoop is disclosed. The hoop has a top portion connected to two bottom portions by a hinged joint. The two bottom portions are connected at the nadir of the hoop in such a way that a force directed at the bottom portions can cause this connection to separate, allowing the paired bottom portions to rotate apart from each other. The disclosed hoop is useful as a dog agility course obstacle as the breakaway function lessens the risk of injury to a dog if the dog contacts the...