The Third Annual Westie Walk of Vancouver
by Wendy Turner
Taken During the Westie Walk of 1997
Photo by Y. Lord
May 31,1998 was the date of the 3rd Annual Westie Walk. The popularity of this event just keeps growing beyond expectations. Despite the fact that the local parks board told us to limit our numbers, which resulted in less advertising than last year, 95 westies and their owners registered for the fun and games! The weather was once again very cooperative - not too hot but great for participation in all the events. We were very fortunate to have Mr. Rod McTaggart pipe us along our walk to the games site. This wonderful gentleman had sprained his ankle a few days before but his true Scottish blood came thru and he did the walk anyway. Not only did he pose for pictures with individual dogs, he had so much fun, he can't wait 'til next year!! We've found a true gem.
With the increase in the number of dogs, most owners very wisely kept their dogs on leash this year. With only the odd snarl sideways and quick reactions by the owners,everyone seemed to have a fun day with lots of time for "westie talk" and "I remember you from last year" was a common remark!
The ever popular Musical Hula Hoops was great fun. Next year we hope to have one round for westies with their kiddie friends as we seem to have more children participating each year. The Weiner-on-a-Stick race was very competitive once we managed to get the dogs separated from the weiners at the start line! Have you ever tried to get a westie to sit still long enough to tie a hat on its head and then run BACK to the finish line. Well many tried and quite a few succeeded and the majority had fun trying.
Those of you who have read about the first two westie walks will recall the antics of Angus, the Weiner Dunk champion. Well Angus was scheduled for knee surgery (which by the way was delayed so that he could come to the westie walk) the week after the Walk. However true to form, as we got the buckets out to fill them with water, Angus was front and center checking for the weiners!!!!! He was a game participant in the race and won his heat, but in the finale he lost the battle and came second. Next year, Angus, we're looking for you to redeem your title!
We tried a new Hoop and Bucket Race this year which seemed to bring out the competitiveness of some of the owners. We'll fine tune this one a bit for next year and try to make it more FUN for the dogs and less important for the owners to win! When it was suggested that we try an Obedience contest, many just chuckled. These westies never cease to amaze us. Fifteen entrants and the judges had a difficult time picking winners because there were so many obedient westies.
The oldest westie to attend this year was Backmuir Macrae (Tuffy) 16 yrs. 3 mos. belonging to Charles and Vanessa Hardy. The youngest westie was Jack Oban of Dirkhaven "Jack" belonging to Erin and John Farncomb.
The Westie Walk will continue again next year, hopefully in Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver. If that venue is not available to us then it will most likely be in North Vancouver. It's an extremely fun time for westie owners and their pets to get together and socialize and we look forward to many more.
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