Team Kahlua

No 2009 Petco Chihuahua Races in AZ

teamkahlua — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 18:22:06 +0000

Finally discovered that Petco is holding Petco Unleashed this year, but they dropped the number of cities from 15 to seven. (Is that even representative of “national” at that point?)

Despite telling us that they’d never drop Phoenix as a racing site because PetSmart has its corporate office here, Petco has dropped Phoenix. We are very, very bummed.

The Puparazzi Strikes Again

teamkahlua — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:51:31 +0000

Kahlua’s in the news again:

The Arizona Republic did a short follow-up on the race results. Click here to read the article.
The Daily News-Sun also did a nice article follow-up on the race. Click here to read the article.

Update: 2008 National Race Results

teamkahlua — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 16:12:52 +0000

Kahlua stayed with the pack during the national race yesterday, earning a respectable finish in the top 10. Although Kahlua didn’t place in the top four spots, we are pleased with her performance and could not be prouder of our little champion.

Several competitors complained that the start of the race was confusing. We were told the start would be announced via microphone, but that didn’t happen. As a result, most of the competitors did not hear the announcer start the race. Had the announcer clearly and loudly announced the start of the race, who knows where Kahlua might have finished. Hopefully, the Petco reps will take this as a lesson learned and find a more efficient way to announce the start over the roar of the cheering crowd.

Additional video of the race is provided below courtesy of Petco, but the quality is poor. Kahlua is in lane 12. Our friend, Brownie, is in lane 13 and our pal, Pancho Villa, is the black ball of fur in lane 10.

Tiger, of Bakersfield, Calif., won first place. This is his second national championship win. In second place was Piccolo, of Woodlands, Texas; Pancho Villa, of Lopez Island, Wash., took third; and Mia, of Elizabeth, Colo., placed fourth. We think Kahlua came in around fifth, sixth or seventh, but it’s hard to tell. (EDIT: Another competitor believes the judges were incorrect in their ruling of the second through fourth place dogs. Based on my review of the videos, this might be true. She also believes there was a three-way tie for fourth place, and according to her, Kahlua may have finished as late as ninth.)

We had an awesome weekend in San Diego and enjoyed meeting the other competitors. We’re so thankful that Petco produces this event annually and are already looking ahead to next year’s regional contest with high hopes. If all goes well, we’ll be back at Petco Park competing for the national title in 2009.

2008 National Race Results

teamkahlua — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 14:00:15 +0000

Problems hearing the announcer resulted in a late start by several of the dogs, including Kahlua. Based on Petco’s ruling of which dogs placed third and fourth, we believe she finished fifth, sixth or seventh. Unfortunately, the finish happened so fast that no one is sure what place each dog earned. To make matters worse, the cameraman for the event obstructed our videographer’s view of the finish.

In this video, Kahlua is wearing an orange vest and is racing in lane 12.

Team Slowpoke

teamkahlua — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 11:00:08 +0000

It’s not looking good for Kahlua today. We had a practice run in the stadium this morning and she decided not to run. All I can figure is that she’s smart enough to realize that if she gets there behind the cluster of dogs, most of the other owners will quiet down and she can get to me during minimal chaos. She’s definitely worried about getting to me, but she seems to want to do so in the least stressful manner possible. I guess trotting out the gate in no big hurry counts. We’ll update after the race, but we aren’t expecting her to place. She just doesn’t want to run.

Oh well, there’s always next year. :-/

Can’t Shake the Puparazzi

teamkahlua — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:08:02 +0000

A photo and story about Kahlua appeared in today’s edition of The Arizona Republic. Click here to read the article.

FYI

teamkahlua — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 06:13:48 +0000

Feel free to call us for the results if we don’t post them right away. My cell phone will be turned on and it will work in San Diego.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

teamkahlua — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 23:04:29 +0000

Our flight leaves at 10:15 a.m. tomorrow and the anticipation is building! Here’s our itinerary for the weekend:

Friday: Hang out with family & friends.

Saturday: Breakfast with the finalists and their owners. Then continue to enjoy San Diego.

Sunday: Meet the Petco rep for instructions and warm-up. The Padres game starts at 1 p.m. and the race will be around 1:20 p.m.

Monday: Enjoy our last day in San Diego.

I can’t wait!

Tabloid Superstar

teamkahlua — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 22:47:23 +0000

A photo and story about Kahlua appeared in today’s edition of The Daily News-Sun. Click here to read the article.

We’ve Got Spirit! Yes, We Do!

teamkahlua — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 21:53:34 +0000

People really tend to get into the chihuahua races. Obviously, we’re no exception (but we certainly don’t take the cake). We didn’t do much to get into the spirit of the regional competition, but it was our first time at the event and we didn’t really know what to expect. We’ve upped the ante for nationals and ordered Team Kahlua shirts for myself and Scott. FedEx just dropped them off and I’m impressed with the quality of the shirts. (Thanks, CustomInk!) I can’t wait to wear them at the races!