We went to the Weiner races yesterday. The kids sported the nifty new red T shirts I made them with a "TEAM HOAGIE" logo . Hoagie had a bright new collar and a glad bag full of weiners(I know a little weird) as treats.
It was great and exciting and a very sunny and a hot 95 degrees. But this was the Summer Weiner Nationals! The equivalent of Beijing for Dachshunds and Bassets and Cavalier Spaniels.
The whole family was there and then some. Dan came with Nicole and bought friends Zeke and Michelle too . Jake and Jens Aunt and friend Bruce were there as well to cheer the gang on.
We sat through 10 races before it was our turn, Hoagie pranced out onto the field with Alex, Jake and Jenny. What a proud group they were, you could see the nervous anticipation in their body language, a sort of uncomfortale stiffness in their step.
The dogs all lined up at "the gate" Hoagie in slot number 8.
But there at gate number 5 I believe, was Bailey. Bailey has been running in these races since the first race years ago. Unfortunately Bailey is getting old as we all do, and last winter she had to have her back right leg amputated. So there she was proud and beautiful with her family getting into the starting gate all smiles and kisses and three legs. The gun sounded and the dogs were off. The race was over in a matter of seconds..for most. However Bailey was slowly pressing along down the stretch in a enthusiastic lumbering pace, alone, in a distant last place. But she wasn't alone. The crowd (about 5000) in the stands started to roar cheering "Bailey! Bailey!", getting louder with every chant, people were crying, as she kept forging along. It was probably the longest fifty feet(thats how long the track is) I have ever seen, but in the end she made it, the crowd stood and clapped, emotion came over everyone like a cool wave and Bailey reaching her family at last covered everyone with kisses saying in doggy language, "What you didn't think I could make it, piece of cake!" and was promptly carried away like the winner she is.
Bailey did not come in first place but she is a winner. I feel bad for the winner because no one noticed any other dog but Bailey. So in the end Bailey won, not because she finished first, but because she went against so many odds and completed her task with an infectious doggy smile, it was something she wanted to do. This case is not about winning, it about being there and giving it your all.
Hoagie finished 4Th out of 10 and he will always be our winner.
It was great and exciting and a very sunny and a hot 95 degrees. But this was the Summer Weiner Nationals! The equivalent of Beijing for Dachshunds and Bassets and Cavalier Spaniels.
The whole family was there and then some. Dan came with Nicole and bought friends Zeke and Michelle too . Jake and Jens Aunt and friend Bruce were there as well to cheer the gang on.
We sat through 10 races before it was our turn, Hoagie pranced out onto the field with Alex, Jake and Jenny. What a proud group they were, you could see the nervous anticipation in their body language, a sort of uncomfortale stiffness in their step.
The dogs all lined up at "the gate" Hoagie in slot number 8.
But there at gate number 5 I believe, was Bailey. Bailey has been running in these races since the first race years ago. Unfortunately Bailey is getting old as we all do, and last winter she had to have her back right leg amputated. So there she was proud and beautiful with her family getting into the starting gate all smiles and kisses and three legs. The gun sounded and the dogs were off. The race was over in a matter of seconds..for most. However Bailey was slowly pressing along down the stretch in a enthusiastic lumbering pace, alone, in a distant last place. But she wasn't alone. The crowd (about 5000) in the stands started to roar cheering "Bailey! Bailey!", getting louder with every chant, people were crying, as she kept forging along. It was probably the longest fifty feet(thats how long the track is) I have ever seen, but in the end she made it, the crowd stood and clapped, emotion came over everyone like a cool wave and Bailey reaching her family at last covered everyone with kisses saying in doggy language, "What you didn't think I could make it, piece of cake!" and was promptly carried away like the winner she is.
Bailey did not come in first place but she is a winner. I feel bad for the winner because no one noticed any other dog but Bailey. So in the end Bailey won, not because she finished first, but because she went against so many odds and completed her task with an infectious doggy smile, it was something she wanted to do. This case is not about winning, it about being there and giving it your all.
Hoagie finished 4Th out of 10 and he will always be our winner.
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