San Diego, California, United States
(September7th 2006)
The second annual PETCO Unleashed national
finals for the title of America's Fastest Chihuahua
has been won by Tiger, a 2-year-old Chihuahua from Bakersfield,
California, who won through from an initial field of
over 1200 contestants.
The finals, held in San Diego, brough together
the seven regional finalists from across the
country. Junior, Peanut, Tiger, Sam, Voodoo, Carolina and last year's defending champion,
Chalupa, collectively beat more than 1,200 others for a chance to race in front of thousands of cheering Chihuahua and baseball fans at PETCO Park in San Diego.
Over 1200 dogs took part in heats before the
regional finalists raced each other.
A carnival-like atmosphere
surrounded the race, which took place on a 1/18th furlong (35-foot-long)
track and was over in just a few seconds. Tiger, who does agility training and competes in "fly ball" in his spare time, covered the track in
just 3.3 seconds, narrowly beating former champion
Chalupa of Indiana.
Tiger's owner, Cathy Smith, said he had been
doing a lot of training since the regional finals
and had picked up nearly 2 pounds of muscle in the
previous 3 months. Tiger also received a trophy for
his efforts, a PETCO gift card and a year's supply
of Royal Canin Chihuahua food.
The Chihuahua is the 11th most popular purebred dog breed in the United States, according to the American Kennel Club. Measuring six to eight inches at the withers and weighing in at 2-1/2 to 4-1/2 pounds, the dogs are considered the smallest and lightest dogs in the world.
