More than a hundred dachshunds from all over the West will be running as quickly as they can on their little legs toward the title of Fastest Wiener in the West.
The Los Alamitos Race Course will be holding the 26th annual Wiener Nationals on Saturday to raise money for the Seal Beach Animal Care Center, a non-kill animal shelter and partner for the event. The spectacle has raised more than $25,000 over the years for the shelter, said Orlando Gutierrez, the marketing director at the race course.
“We love dachshunds, we think they’re amazing, and also it’s for a good cause so it’s kind of a win-win,” said Chelsey Engerran-Singh, a Van Nuys resident who entered her dachshund, Leona, into the Diaper Dash, a race for wiener dogs that are a year old or younger.
More than half of the dachshunds competing have never raced before, said Gutierrez, and many of the newcomers were encouraged to enter after they visited and saw the fun at the race.
On Monday, several of the pups were getting acquainted with the track during a preview day.
“We hold these couple of practice events just to get them used to what happens, get them used to the starting gate, get them used to the finish line, get them used to running against other dogs,” Gutierrez said.
Jasmine and Evelyn Melgar drove for more than an hour from San Fernando Valley to enter their dachshund Snoopy into the races. After receiving encouragement from a friend and noticing Snoopy’s nighttime hyperactivity, they decided the race would be the perfect opportunity to show off his speed.
Jasmine Melgar placed Snoopy in the cage at the starting line and as the gate lifted, screamed “Run! Run! Run! Run! Run!” as he raced toward her sister at the finish line, getting distracted by the other dogs in the homestretch and veering slightly off course.
“It’d be cool if he did win, but if he doesn’t, I don’t mind, as long as he has fun,” Melgar said.
The first place prize is $1,000 in cash, a…
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