Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Wieners, Corgis put the fun in fundraiser
BELLA VISTA — It wasn’t like a Kentucky Derby day at the races as wiener dogs and corgis — and some wiener and corgi wannabes — competed in the Weiner vs. Corgi Races held Oct. 1 in Bella Vista.
The event was a fundraiser for the Bella Vista Animal Shelter. It featured races for wiener dogs and corgis and even a race for other breeds that aspired to be like their short-legged buddies. There were also vendors, a food truck, a musical sit contest and a costume contest.
“I think everyone’s having a fun time,” Bella Vista Animal Shelter Executive Director Nancy Cullins said during the event. “You can’t really not enjoy the races because the dogs are just so entertaining. They don’t need me here to be planning anything.”
Some dogs bolted quickly from the starting gate, racing in a straight line to the waiting arms of their owner at the finish line. Others took the scenic route, pausing to visit the fans seated on either side of the course. Still others were content to just hang out at the starting gate, sniffing new friends who also were just happy to be there.
“This is actually one of our biggest fundraisers,” Cullins said. “We have three really big fundraisers that we host throughout the year — the garage sale that we do in June, the golf tournament in July and this one. It’s our last big one of the year, and then we go on hiatus until April again when we do Bratfest at Allen’s Super Market.”
The beautiful early fall weather — along with the opportunity to sit and watch small dogs frolicking outside — helped draw a large crowd to the event.
“It’s a great turnout,” Cullins said. “We couldn’t have asked for better weather this year. We’ve been rained out a couple of times, so this is absolutely fantastic, and we’re thankful for that.
“We always estimate there to be about 600 people that show up, and it looks like it might be even more this year,” she continued, adding with a laugh, “I tried to funnel all the traffic through one door so we could count them but the audience had a different idea.”
Besides a big crowd, this year’s event drew lots of volunteer help, including a big group from Northwest Arkansas Community College and the Bella Vista Fly Tyers Club.
“We’ve had some outstanding volunteer support this year,” Cullins said. “We had about 25 NWACC nursing students come out to help us, and the wonderful Fly Tyers also came out and gave us huge support. I couldn’t have done anything without them. And we have some really dedicated volunteers from the animal shelter who came out to help out and it turned out to be a really great staff.”
The event also received a lot of help from a variety of sponsors.
“West Termite is a huge supporter of the animal shelter,” Cullins said. “They support us every single year. Village Pet, Pinnacle Propane, Three Dog Bakery, Aussie Pet Mobile of Northwest Arkansas, BV Recycling, NWA Corgi, NWA Canine, Bella Vista Wine & Spirits and All Pets Animal Hospital have also provided a lot of support and Highland Pets comes to every single event we have. They’re wonderful supporters.”
Cullins said the event is important for the animal shelter, but also a great way to get the word out about Bella Vista itself.
“The nice thing about this event is that it kind of sells itself,” she said. “One of the things I was striving for this year was to open it up for nonprofits, so all the nonprofits got free booth space to help them get the word out to residents of Bella Vista and those visiting from out of town about all the wonderful things we’ve got going on here in Bella Vista.”
She added, “We’ve had such a huge population change that I think this is the best way to be able to tell people what’s happening in Bella Vista and why they should love living here in the most beautiful place on Earth.”
The day at the dog races comes on the heels of another shelter fundraiser in which dogs get to take over the Kingsdale swimming pool for a few hours.
“Dog Days of Summer was a good turnout this year,” Cullins said. “We had 92 dogs come and swim and zero dog fights, and that’s always a huge thing.”
She continued, “I can’t thank Arvest Bank and CryeLeike Realtors enough for supporting it and providing all the food for free. It was a magnificent event, and everybody had such a good time. We had fantastic weather and a good turnout for that event, too, and we’re really working to get the word out about the animal shelter.”
Giving the animal shelter access to the swimming pool, as well as the dog park and ball field for Saturday’s event, are just some of the benefits Cullins said her organization has received.
“The Bella Vista POA has been an amazing partner for all of us,” she said. “They let us borrow these venues for free at the end of the season and we couldn’t be more happy to have their support. It’s fantastic. The Bella Vista POA and Bella Vista Foundation have been so supportive and we’ve gotten so much support from the local community … we couldn’t do it without them. We’re so happy to have the support of the community and also to have the help to take care of the strays and lost animals here in Bella Vista.”