Howllo Fellow Basset Hound and Field Day Lovers! This is a cute story out of Edmonton, Canada.

“Come on, Sandy!”

Gladys Hough hollered to her dog from the finish line Sunday at the third annual World Basset Hound Races, flailing her arms in an attempt to let her pooch know that she was the target.

About 40 metres away, Sandy waited, revving her paws in the grass as Gladys’s 24-year-old daughter Melanie corralled the animal by her collar.

“We’re coaxing her,” Gladys, 52, said, opening her hand to reveal a piece of cheddar cheese. “My daughter has the other half.”

Despite the motivational tool, Gladys didn’t expect a first-place finish. “Last year she was sniffing dogs’ butts as she was running,” Gladys said with a laugh.

But Sandy surprised them, barrelling across the finish line first in the third heat for her age division.

The races, orchestrated by Inspired Market Gardens owner Gwen Simpson, are held on a 64-hectare farm coowned by Simpson near the hamlet of Carvel, about 40 kilometres west of Edmonton.

Simpson has owned three basset hounds and thought it would be fun to incorporate a race into a harvest tea event she was planning.

Admission was by donation, and registration was$5 per dog or$10 for two or more. Simpson said the more than$1,600 collected will be given to Edmonton Basset Rescue.

The event, which attracted 110 hounds, kicked off with a treasure hunt, a training demonstration and contests,

which included the longest ears, lowest undercarriage and best trick.

End of article……

More lowest undercarriages later….Love, Cat, Chaps and Emma

Then the racing began. The competition was broken up into age brackets: pups, boomers (one to six years old) and seniors.

Each age division produced a winner, and then the top three from each bracket raced for the ultimate prize– the Walter Memorial Cup, named in honour of Simpson’s deceased dog.

Simpson rescued Walter when he was five years old. Walter had tooth problems, was overweight and his scent glands produced an unfriendly odour. “He was a mess,” Simpson said. “But he was the sweetest, most loving dog I’ve ever had.”

Walter participated in the inaugural event but died shortly before last year’s run. “He’s probably dearest to my heart because he was so clingy,” Simpson said, explaining that Walter would leave a room when she did– a quintessential basset hound trait. “He was just my baby.”

Seven-year-old Gracie won the cup this year, along with a bag of all-natural dog food and a couple of T-shirts, after owners Shawn and Renee Hackney enticed her with a dog treat dipped in peanut butter.

But the day wasn’t all about winning. Boxer was hesitant to leave the starting line, slowly building up to a trot.

When he crossed the finish line a good minute behind all of the other dogs in the senior division, he was greeted with a round of applause –quite an accomplishment for a blind hound. Boxer had both eyes removed due to glaucoma.

“I forget that he’s blind,” said owner Wendy Dunne. “Like he’ll run and then I see him bang into the side of a car, shake his head and get up and run again.”

Interacting with a variety of hounds was one of the biggest draws of the event. Walter Aufrecht made a more than five-hour trek from Lethbridge with his dog Hunter. The event was worth it, the 66-year-old said.

“This is like doggie heaven.”

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