Chihuahua Races in Sparks

Mel Meier encourages her Chihuahua Ox across the finish line. Photo by Charlie JohnstonIt's a rat! It's a furry remote controlled car! No, it's a Chihuahua, running as fast as its four-inch-long legs can carry it. About 150 of the diminutive dogs raced Saturday and Sunday in the ninth annual Bully's Sports Bar and Grill Chihuahua Races at the Pyramid Way and McCarran Boulevard location in Sparks to raise $2,100 for the SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals).

As a newcomer to this odd spectacle (if any Chihuahuas are reading this, please don't take any offense, I am referring to your owners) I had no idea what to expect. The images that haunted my thoughts leading up to the event were of a bunch of ear-piercingly yappy, shivering canines swarming around the floor like a Mormon cricket migration, while their owners try in vain to quell the squabbles breaking out among the oft-aggressive little beasts.

I could not have been more wrong. The dogs were exceptionally well behaved—contrary to their less-than-flattering reputation. The only high-pitched yelps and squeals came from the over-excited owners as they cheered their puny pets to the finish line. And as hard as it is to admit (I'm partial to larger dogs myself) they were actually quite cute.

Ox poses for a photo with her humans Mel Meier and Nick Vander Poel. Photo by Charlie JohnstonDogs went snout to snout in best-of-three races on parallel tracks. The 30-foot-long tracks were constructed to give each dog its own chute and block views of its opponent (Chihuahuas are notoriously competitive). To alleviate any arguments over a suspected “hot track,” each dog raced once in each chute. If a third race was needed, the tracks were assigned more randomly.

Although I couldn't stay to watch the exciting conclusion of the races, I managed to stay long enough to see why this event has survived for nearly a decade and will no doubt continue for at least as long. Next year, I'll have to remember to bring some earplugs