Lake in the Hills hosts Sunset Doxie Derby at Bark Park

LAKE IN THE HILLS – It was off to the races for little dogs Saturday afternoon at the Lake in the Hills Bark Park.

The Lake in the Hills Parks and Recreation Department hosted its first “Sunset Doxie Derby” on Saturday. The race was focused on dachshund breed dogs with a racing category for “Weenie Wannabes” – dogs less than 30 pounds. Nearly 20 participants showed up to race, and others arrived to watch the show and to socialize with other doxie enthusiasts.

The Hall family came from Genoa City, Wisconsin, to join the fun, with their three doxies – Pumpkin, Pipsqueak and Ginger “Ginny” Sparkles. The family has owned its dogs for years, and they said they are by far the most lovable breed they’ve had.

“Our oldest daughter for some reason wanted a dachshund, and so we told her if she could come up with the money, she could get one,” owner Shannon Hall said. “Of course, she came up with the money, and we couldn’t say no. So she did her research, we found a breeder and got [Pipsqueak].”

About two years later, the family adopted a second doxie to keep Pipsqueak company after the death of the other family dogs, and they later fostered a third.

“We ended up fostering her for a year and a half,” Hall said. ‘When we got her, she was pretty abused and wasn’t bonding with other foster families, but she bonded with us, so we ended up keeping her because she wasn’t going to get adopted out.”

The event was held in advance of the Lake in the Hills Sunset 5K for humans, scheduled Friday, and also was an attempt to bring people out to the park, said Kristi Brewer, recreation supervision with the parks department.

“This is something a little bit different than we have offered for our dog park before, to highlight that big dogs and small dogs can come out to the park,” she said. “In our area there are a lot of dachshund races, so we thought we would contribute to that as well. It’s a fun thing to watch.”

Dachshund-King Charles spaniel mix Harley, 6, took first place in the “Weenie Wannabe” portion of the race. He came to the park accompanied by owner Libby Hornbostel.

Hornbostel took in Harley from a shelter three years ago, and it was the first time she had decided to enter him in a race.

“We are park members, and we decided this morning we should come out and do the dog race,” she said. “He did exceptionally well.”