Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, December 17, 1994 TAG: 9412190076
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KIMBERLY N. MARTIN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Barking and jumping, they chased the sausage across the carpeted floor, clamoring for just a nip. It was the performance of a lifetime.
Too bad it was only practice for the main event a few minutes later - a Wiener Dog Race on the ice during the second intermission at the Roanoke Express' hockey game against Richmond.
Once on the ice Friday night, the dogs' stubby legs shivered, and only one of the five dachshunds ventured away from its owner's side.
Max was the star.
After a few missteps, and moments when he opted to chase the team's mascot instead, he was off.
About a minute later, Max was Roanoke's first wiener dog champion, and the enjoyer of the spoils: 50 pounds of gourmet dog food, four bottles of spring water and the ever elusive sausage.
"It was fun, I'm definitely glad I entered him," said Max's owner, Pat Quick, who got an Express T-shirt for Max's lap around the ice.
The fans also won. Those with Max's number in their program won a dinner at Kenny Rogers Roasters.
Tim Woodburn, director of marketing and broadcasting for the Express, got the idea for the dog race at a regional hockey conference this summer. "It's been done in Huntsville and Knoxville with their hockey teams, and it's been done incident free and is extremely popular with their fans," he said.
Roanoke's fans were no different. They cheered when Max finally got going and even when he took off after the mascot.
"It was a real cute idea," said Freda Guill, who once had a dachshund. "If I still had it, I would've entered it."
But not everyone echoed her enthusiasm for the event.
Before Friday night's race, SPCA Shelter Director Al Alexander and League for Animal Protection founder Waine Tomlinson expressed their concern to Woodburn.
Woodburn was successful in temporarily appeasing Alexander.
"He assured me that the animals would be quite safe and cared for, but I'll have to see it for myself," Alexander said.
But animal rights activist Tomlinson said he was unswayed.
"If it were any other breed of dog, I wouldn't be as concerned," he said.
The dachshund and other long-back dogs such as basset hounds are prone to back injuries, which they can get just from walking up and down stairs. Those injuries can result in anything from back pain to total paralysis, said Dr. Charlotte Dietz, a veterinarian at Brandon Animal Hospital.
But measures were taken to prevent injury to the dogs, Woodburn said. The dogs wore Roanoke Express shirts as capes to keep warm, and they raced during the second intermission so the ice wouldn't be as slick.
Still, Alexander and Tomlinson weren't completely sold.
"The dogs are privately owned, so there isn't a whole lot we can do. But, if something bad happens, then they'll hear from us," Tomlinson said - although nobody from his group protested at the event.
by CNB