Hot dog! Dachshunds brave the heat to run for Wiener-paw-looza glory
Every morning at 5 a.m., Bacon is ready to hit the pavement.
“He’s a bit of a sprinter, not long distance, but short distance,” his mother and trainer, Dianna, said just before his big race Saturday.
“He’s been training for several weeks now, absolutely no doping whatsoever.”
He’s been on a strict training diet.
“He’s been following the diet of ...” Dianne looks to Bacon’s dad.
“Some kibbles and lots of water to stay hydrated,” Kyron pipes in.
Bacon, 3, is a dachshund (pronounced dash-und and not dacksund as silly reporters might think).
It was a hot day for Bacon and all other hot dogs at Carlington Park on Saturday for, what else, Wienerpaw-looza. The annual Canadian Dachshund Rescue Ontario fundraising event includes a highly anticipated wiener dog race.
Were Dianna and Kyron concerned about the competition?
“No, not at all,” Dianna said. “He’s got a healthy self-esteem.”
“I think he has it,” Kyron said of the black and brown little fellow, who stood about a foot tall and maybe double that in length, wearing a plastic floral lei necklace.
“It’s distraction for the other dogs, but it’s also light and summery, like his personality,” Dianna said.
Melissa Beaudry said her Caesar, 3, has “just always loved to run ever since he’s been a kid.”
Last year, he ran about halfway down the length of the track — a fenced off rectangular space where dogs are unleashed on one end before running toward their people yelling their names and squeaking their favourite toys at the other — before deciding to run back the other way.
“Hopefully, this year we just make it to the finish line.”
Danny Marqass’s Chico, 1, was the rookie underdog who sprinted to the finish line in Heat 1 of the qualifying rounds. He was one of about 85 dogs taking part in the races. He had a few minutes before the gold medal race and was kind enough to pose for a reporter.
“This is Wiener-paw-looza,” said Canadian Dachshund Rescue fundraising director Heather Benedict.
The dog fest is one of the major fundraisers of the year for the charity, which takes in stranded and abandoned dachshunds that need to be rehomed.
Any medical bills before the dogs can be rehomed are covered by the rescue, largely because of money raised at these kinds of events.
The love of a dachshund is a special thing, Benedict said.
“They ’re quirky. They ’re just endearing. They can be very lovable. They can be stubborn, they can be a bit of a challenge, but they ’re also very cute and small.”
Those last two traits lend themselves to being dressed up. Enter the costume competition.
Asgard, 3, was adopted by his family last October after the rescue paid for surgery to have his bow legs corrected.
Together with his “best buddy,” Chori (short for Chorizo sausage), the pair won cutest costume in the competition of about 23 dogs for their Clark Kent and Superman outfits.
The rescue will hold another Wiener-paw-looza in Hamilton on Aug. 11.