Racing dachshunds

Annual Wiener Takes All races pit dachshund on dachshund

The very first heat of the 11th annual Bella Vista Wiener Dog races set a record.

In spite of some early morning showers Saturday, by race time it was warm and clear at the Loch Lomond Park and the contestants were ready to go. The dogs lined up in the starting gates with owners positioned at the other end of the field waving treats and toys as encouragement.

Ron Krolikowski used the traditional starting language. “Ready. Set. Go!”

The crowd waited.

The dogs left the starting gates — then stopped. Milling around the starting gates, they seemed to decide it would be more fun to get to know each other than to race.

At the finish line, treats and toys waved; at the starting gate handlers shooed.

The dogs sniffed each other. It was the longest race in the history of the Wiener Takes All races.

Eventually two dogs headed toward the finish line.

Despite the slow start, the event was a success, said Deidre Knight-Madley, executive director of the Bella Vista Animal Shelter. The shelter raised $10,500 including funds from corporate sponsor West Termite Control. About 45 dachshunds took part in the series of heats that make up the Wiener Takes All Races, which is considered the Arkansas State Championship.

Frankie the Flash won the third race.

“He just goes like lightening,” Harriett Sissom said of her dog, Frankie The Flash. Frankie has reportedly caught rabbits and squirrels at his Fayetteville home.

“It’s something fun to do and it’s for a good cause,” Alisha Trent said. Her dog, Talburt, was racing.

Many of the dogs return every year to race. They come from Oklahoma and Missouri, as well as Arkansas and some families wear their own racing uniforms — usually a T-shirt.

All the funds go to the shelter, which is a nonprofit.

All kinds of dogs were welcome to participate in the Wiener Wanna Be races and the musical sit championship. There was also a costume contest and a demonstration of dog agility.

Several shelter dogs attended the event, wearing vests with pockets so people could slip in donations. At least one shelter dog was adopted during the event.

It’s good for the dogs to be out and about even if they aren’t adopted, shelter employee Elizabeth May explained. It helps them with anxiety and it helps develop social skills. Potential adopters can get a better idea of what a dog is like, if it’s away from the shelter, she said.

All together it was a successful day, Knight-Madley said.

Lynn Atkins/The Weekly Vista The first heat of Saturday's Wieners Takes All Dachshunds Races started slowly when the racers felt the need to socialize just beyond the starting gate. The event was a fundraiser for the Bella Vista Animal Shelter.

Lynn Atkins/The Weekly Vista Owners ready their dogs to race at the annual Wiener Takes All Dachshund Races.

Lynn Atkins/The Weekly Vista Ruby won the costume contest with her "beer drinking, kayak fisherman" costume. She often kayaks when her owners go out to fish, Melissa Kyle said, so she knows to say in the boat. In this case, the boat is actually a cooler, she said.

Lynn Atkins/The Weekly Vista Dachshunds race toward the finish line as their owners urge them on during Saturday's Weiner Takes All fundraiser for the animal shelter.

Lynn Atkins/The Weekly Vista Ciao Bella, dressed as a showgirl angel, took second place in the costume contest.

Lynn Atkins/The Weekly Vista Harriett Sissom holds her dog, Frankie the Flash, who is holding a stuffed squirrel — his reward for winning the third heat of the Wiener Take All races on Saturday.