Vergas is home to the world’s largest loon statue. So, it’s only fitting that its yearly celebration called “Looney Days” pays tribute to the moniker by amping the “loony” up all the way to 11. And this past Saturday was no different as the 12th annual “Running of the Wieners” took place with its biggest field of competitors to date.
Eighty-three wiener dogs from across the nation descended onto the small, rural community of about 300 people, to decide who the top dog was in the sport of wiener racing.
There were wiener dogs of all different shapes and sizes. From pure-bred, sausage-shaped dachshunds with short or long hair, to mixed breeds amalgamated with Chihuahua, cocker spaniel or some other stubby-legged canine.
Horse racing has Secretariat, sprinting has Usain Bolt and wiener dog racing has Big Mac, the event’s reigning champion.
He’s an even tempered 3-year-old dachshund from Fargo, N.D., named after the sandwich. His owner, Devlin Cummings Pas, said no one is more surprised than he is at Big Mac’s success, before Saturday’s race.
“He miraculously won last year. I’m hoping he repeats. I’m feeling the adrenaline already. It hasn’t even started yet,” Cummings Pas said. “It’s just a ton of fun. It’s a real random thing I learned about when I first got him, and it just turned into this thing that now I’m actually known for in my friend circle. I love it.”
He said the competition represents a yearly quest for the pair, and it’s a way for them to bond. But it also represents something more.
“It’s about bringing people together and doing something ridiculous and doing well at it,” Cummings Pas said. “And I kind of think that's the human story, about working together and just making impossible things possible."
Before the action began racers did practice runs on the 90-foot straight-line track. One such runner was Flava Flav. His handlers, the father-daughter team of Steve and Willa Larsen from Detroit Lakes, cheered him on.
“Go! Go, Flav,” Steve yelled after releasing Flava Flav at the starting line.
But Steve couldn’t hide his sigh after it took Flava Flav about 10 seconds to cross the finish line into the waiting arms of Willa.
“Not a bad practice run. I think there’s more in him. I think there is absolutely more in him. That run is going to have to be quicker than that. But I thought that was a good training first start,” he said.
The husband-wife team of Krystyne and Kevin Frandson from Fergus Falls, were also practicing with their “boy,” Dobby, named after a “Harry Potter” character. It was their first time participating in the event.
“We always talked about doing it, but we didn’t. We just knew he was fast and thought we’d give it a try. We also knew his attention span wasn't the greatest. So, we'll see how this goes,” Krystyne said. “It’s a completely different game when there's a bunch of dogs on here, I’m sure. So, we’ll see.”
Once the races started the true art of wiener dog racing began. Wiener dogs have a mind of their own. Sometimes they race and sometimes they just want to get petted by spectators. Some have even been known to jump the short 3-foot fence which separates them from the crowd.
During the many heats seven wiener athletes line up at the started with their “releasers.” Another handler waited as a “catcher” at the finish line. Big Mac’s success last year didn’t come until Cummings Pas switched positions with his mother from releaser to catcher.
But it’s not as simple as it sounds. Both team members must work together implementing a multitude of methods to bribe the wieners to the finish. Sometimes they use squeaky toys or shake a bag of treats.
Other times just good old-fashioned separation anxiety does the trick.
One owner goaded her dog to find its “dad” at the finish line while the little barrel-shaped athlete let out high-pitched whimpers and scratched at the air.
About two hours later, through the process of double elimination, Big Mac was dethroned by a dachshund mix named Smokey. His owners, Thain and Katie Abrahamson, from Thief River Falls, said the new champ spent his morning chasing birds to prepare for the victory.
“It’s pretty exciting because this is his third year. So, the other years he was too scared, you know, of other dogs and stuff. He’d get too scared and try to jump the fence or whatever,” Thain said. “This year. I guess he's used to it now, and he just took off. And so, we had pretty high hopes, because we knew he was fast, but it all depended on how he acted around the other dogs.”
As for Big Mac, Cummings Pas said after reaching the semifinals he’ll be back next year for another go.
“It was a very surprising day of doing well and not doing well, and it made it very dramatic,” he said. “It was a big adventure out there.”
Despite the result Cummings Pas said Big Mac was taking it all in stride.
"Well, good for him he doesn’t care about winning or losing,” he said. “He just wants to take a nap and eat food. So, we’re going to go and do that."
Seth Miller traveled over an hour to take in Looney Days’ marquee event. And he said he wasn’t disappointed.
“I just think it’s so awesome that there’s all these different types of dogs out here today,” Miller said. “It’s a celebration of the town and having everyone that kind of lives around here and has a lake cabin just to come around, get together, have fun.”
With over 1,500 spectators, wiener dog race organizer and emcee, Digger Anderson, said this year's event was its largest to date.
“I was at the start line, and I looked at these little kids. I said, ‘You guys having fun?’ The one little kid smiled, he didn’t have any front teeth, and, jeez, he had the biggest grin,” Digger shared. “He says ‘Boy, this is fun, best part of the summer.”
Digger said he’ll continue organizing the races for as long as he can.
