My wife is on the board of the local SPCA and once a year they have an event where lots of people show up and brings their pets. It's a nice fund raiser for them and it's a good time for everyone involved. One of the main events is the doggy olympics where people complete (good-naturedly) with their dogs. The events are the tunnel race, the ramp run, and the carry-the-egg-on-the-spoon-while-heeling-your-dog race. The contestants all have a good time, but those dogs end up having all the fun. I've come up with a few ideas to make it better.
1. The Tunnel Race - This is where the owner has their dog run through a tunnel. Dogs, by nature, don't like tunnels and prefer to go around. I'm thinking we should have the owners do something they don't like at the end of the race. Perhaps a quick dental checkup at the finish line. Hey, I'm only thinking of people's health here.
2. The ramp run - This is another thing some dogs don't like. For Example:
So I figure we should have the owners run along side...for motivational purposes. Except that's an awfully low ramp. We should grease it for a little challenge. We already have a dentist there if someone does a face plant.
3. The egg race - This one is easy enough. I noticed this year that very few people dropped their eggs though. That's the whole point, isn't it? Next year I'm bringing along a bag of squirrels to release mid-race. Anyone who comes back with a whole egg after that will deserve a ribbon.
The Boy helped out during events too. He's a future volunteer like his mom and dad. He helped set up the events for the dogs and also registered people. The only drawback there was that everyone he registered were hard to differentiate since they were all listed as, "YOU."
Eventually The Wife and I will have to tussle over where he volunteers. He's definitely leaning towards the SPCA right now. Those damn cute puppies and kittens win every time. I need to get him to a relay-for-life event to see if I can pull him over to the ACS with me.
We wrapped up with our annual blessing of the pets by my priest. (On a related post, check here for a good laugh) It turned out to be a great day overall. The SPCA raised some money and it was a beautiful day.Despite some reluctance on the parts of some dogs, they had a good time too. I know; I saw them wag their tails.
No ramps, Boys, tunnels, or animals were hurt in the posting of this blog.
