Rochester K9 Ninja’s Run Wasn’t on American Ninja Warrior, But…

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His run may not have been shown on Monday night's episode of American Ninja Warrior, but that doesn't mean Rochester's K9 Ninja isn't moving on.

If you've been following along, Rochester's long-time K9 Ninja, Roo Yori, was invited back to compete on this season of the NBC-TV show, American Ninja Warrior. And while he already knew how he did on this season's qualifying run (the show was taped earlier this spring), he wasn't at liberty to say until after last night's episode aired on TV.

If you're not familiar, Roo Yori is, of course, famous in these parts-- and across the country-- for competing as the K-9 Ninja on ANW. Since he first burst onto the ANW scene over five years ago, he's been both competing on the show, as well as raising money for his own foundation that helps find forever homes for deserving dogs.

Roo's amazing Wallace The Pitbull Foundation has already done a LOT for homeless animals. Last year alone, he raised over $13,000 for homeless dogs! And, again this year, Roo and his followers have been raising even MORE money for dogs in need, by soliciting donations from dog-lovers and fans based on how many of the ANW obstacles he successfully conquered on Monday's show.

There was one wrinkle, though. Roo let us know over the weekend that his qualifying run would NOT be shown on Monday's show. But as we said yesterday, just because a ninja's run isn't shown on TV doesn't necessarily mean they won't make the cut to move onto the semi-final round of competition.

And, as it turns out, that's exactly what happened... Roo DID make into the semi-final round, as he pointed out in a post on his Facebook page late Monday night:

Just because my run wasn't shown doesn't mean I can't raise more money to help dogs in need! I'm moving on to the semi-finals! I went out on obstacle 5. It was a smooth run and I went far enough fast enough to still advance. So that means some more money for the pups!

Which is great news-- both for us watching ANW, and for those deserving dogs for whom Roo is always looking out! So, yeah, he's moving on-- and he's still raising money for homeless dogs, too. According to his Pledge It page, he's already raised over $15,000 so far this year.  (You can donate HERE!)

And his semi-final run is scheduled to air on ANW on August 16th. Roo's a great guy, and stopped by our studios during one of his first years on ANW to talk about what it's like to be an American Ninja Warrior! Check out the video below. And speaking of athletes, do you know how many animals native to Minnesota can outrun humans? Keep scrolling to find out!

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