Saturday, Sept 8, I was asked to assist my friend Susan with racing her dog in the Wienerschnitzel Wiener Dog Nationals in San Diego. Her dog Minnie is very fast, she loves to chase the tennis ball. We knew she had the speed, but did she have the focus?

350 dogs were entered, there were numerous heats where up to 8 dogs raced at a time. They were put in a starting block, and when the gate was opened, they were "encouraged" by their owners to the finish line. The top 16 dogs would make it to the semi finals, where 2 races would determine the top 8. These 8 would go on to race at a Laker basketball game in October.

Minnie won her first heat. So far, she was in the top 16. As each preliminary race was held, more of the top 16 dropped off as new dogs clocked better times. It was touch and go as more and more of the top 16 lost their places. But in the end, Minnie kept her spot, and progressed on to the semi-finals.

The semi finals consisted of 2 races, 8 dogs in each race. The top 4 of each race would win a spot in the next event at the Laker game. The first 8 of the 16 raced, these dogs were good, so focused, so fast. Minnie was in the second group, she lined up in gate 7. I held her tight, trying to focus her on her owner down at the finish line. It was loud, there was lots of excitement. I put Minnie in her starting block, put her little nose to the glass hoping she'd see Susan. She was excited, she was squealing, I was hoping she was focused. And then the start. They all raced to the finish, it was hard to tell which 4 crossed first. There was a conference of the officials, and when the winners were announced, Minnie was one of the best 8!!!! She will continue on to race in October.

While I took a few of these pictures, the majority of these shots were taken by Jeff Marks.