Dads & Dogs...

Father's Day weekend, Brad and I headed down to Boerne to spend time with his family. We always enjoy our time there and the dogs love it because they get to run around on their land. 

In addition to it being Father's Day, it was also Berges Fest time in Boerne. Every little German town in Texas has a festival for something... and Boerne is no exception! So, we headed to downtown Boerne to enjoy the event. There was music ranging from local country artists to traditional German music. The food had a range too... from the normal festival fare of funnel cakes and turkey legs to yummy crepes and German Bratwurst with Sauerkraut. There were fun attractions including a carnival, wheelbarrow races and an egg toss.

We roamed around for a while, enjoying some food and seeing what we could see. However, we stayed close to the main tent because we were there to see the main attraction. That's right folks, I couldn't wait to see ... the Dachshund Races!!! We met up with my brother-in-law Doug and my niece, Irina for the event. Irina and I got great seats at the finish line. We settled in to cheer on the Wiener dogs! And they were SO CUTE!!! It is hard work to sprint when you are only a couple of inches from the ground!

  

Getting ready!

All lined up!

 

There were 5 rounds with 5 dogs in each race. One dog owner held them at the starting line while another family member sat at the finish line calling them with treats, toys, whatever they could use! Everyone cheered and laughed as the dogs ran in chaotic fashion. Some of them were so ready to race, their owners had to hold them back. Others got confused when they were released and made a u-turn back to the starting line. Others would run with no direction whatsoever, so they would cross the finish line - but on the opposite side from where they started. 

And... go!!

Look at the lower left-hand corner... see the arms with the pink shirt taking a picture? That is me - so you can see that Irina and I had great seats!

The best moment of the whole race was when it was won by an unlikely contender. Before the start had been called, a couple of dogs got into a little fight. They separated them but when they were released to race, they did what any good dog would do... resumed the fight! With that distraction going on, most of the other dogs didn't know what to do so no one raced. Then one Dachshund just started meandering his way down - oblivious to the race. He stopped and sniffed a few things and he looked around, all while heading towards the finish line. Soon the crowd began to realize that he could win it while the other dogs were distracted and we started to cheer for him. At that very moment, he stopped and peed on the tent pole. The crowd went wild with laughter and cheers, routing for him to get to the finish line. You know what? He did ... so he won the race by just taking a leisurely walk! It was hysterical!!

"I think I can, I think I can!!"

 After the races, we visited and Irina enjoyed some cotton candy. 

The girls...

Irina showing off her cotton candy tongue!

With plans made to meet up for dinner later for an early Father's Day celebration, we headed home. It was a great afternoon! We enjoyed a nice family dinner at Outback that night. The next morning we went to church, had lunch and then headed home.

Exhausted dogs on the ride home.