Best People Watching. Ever.

By now you all probably know about my slightly-abnormal obsession with weiner dogs. But the people I'm about to show your are side-show freaks compared to me.

Let me explain. You see, I attended the Weiner Dog National Races this summer in Huntington Beach, Ca. That's right, HB has more to offer than good surfing and overly-bronzed women. It plays host to one of the funniest events of the year, providing some of the best people watching I've ever seen in a wanna-be German town called, well, Germantown. You'll know you've arrived when you see the liederhosen-clad mannequins in the corner window posed in a somewhat quesitonable position. Wish I had a photo of that.

Upon arriving at the mostly-stucco, fake-cobblestone-lined 'town' (surreal I tell you), we were greeted with the yips of more than 50 weiner dogs. Sheer heaven.

But what was really great was the one-of-a-kind people watching. I expected it would be good, but the place was packed with neurotic weiner dog fans, each routing for their prized pup. Not only that, but the percentage of white trash weiner dog owners was very high. Here's a father-son duo sampling for your enjoyment...bringing the feel and speed of nascar to a much smaller venue...

So anyway, people took this event seriously. So seriously, in fact, that one couple even had a business card made...for their dog. That's right, their precious Baby Love had her own business card. Two actually--one for the movie she was featured in and one for her appearance in a local artist's exhibit. As you probably deduced, the couple was incredibly proud of their baby. They had an entire roller-suitcase full of accesories and such for the dog. She was clearly their pride and joy. And yes his shirt does say, "Beward of My Weiner."

Then there were the weiner-dog owners who actually aged wet cat food a month in advance to serve as incentive for the little guys to run full speed ahead. Take this scary woman in black, for example. She approached her pooch at the starting line every heat, and shoved the month-old delight in her dog's face. This resulted in a frenzy of flailing on the weiner dog's part, during which the woman would yell in a high-pitched voice, "Ya, come on! Ya!' combined with a dog-like howl. Yes this really happened. Every time.

Then, once her job was done, her husband would hold the dog close enough to whisper encouraging words of wisdom in its ear. Things like, 'Come on, you can do this! Win this baby, win this! Run to mama, run to mama!' And with each emphatic phrase, he would almost shake the dog, as if to REALLY pump the little guy up.

There were even times when the opposing weiner dog owners, standing side by side at the start line, would allow their dogs to 'fight' while holding them mid air. Apparently this gets them even more excited and ready to run.

I think my favorite moment, however, was watching this guy. After every heat, he'd get on his knees, wait for the weiner dogs to finish, and greet them with a congratulatory snack. He was so into it that he didn't notice Zach taking photos of him. Kim described his smile perfectly: "It kind of looks like an 'I love this race; come here little weiner dog and get some treats and then I'll kill you' smile."

In the end, a little brown and white pup named Hot Rod took first. And he deserved it; he was definitely the speediest of the bunch. It must have been the stench of that month-old surprise that won him the gold.

The best part about this event was the price. An hour-long festival of weiner dog madness for a buck. One dollar. Endless entertainment.

Enjoy the rest of these photos so eloquently captured by Zach and Gentry. Well done boys.