Stella repeats as wiener dog racing champion at Looney Days

Detroit Lakes, Minn. (KDLM) – 53 wiener dogs participated in the 12th annual Wiener Dog races in Vergas on Saturday morning.

The Looney Days staple-event brought in dogs and their owners from as far away as Florida, Texas and Nevada.

Digger Anderson, the master-of-ceremonies for the event, spoke to KVRR’s Hami Arain and said the competition has been growing every year.

“It started out with just a handful of dogs and about 75 or so spectators,” said Anderson. “And now, it’s grown year, after year, after year, where it’s kind of become the signature event of Looney Days on Saturday morning.”

Anderson said he has a 14-year-old wiener dog and, even as he, and his dog, keep getting older, he still loves to watch the excitement on the faces of all the young kids who get a kick out of watch these animals run through the grass.

“I’ve raced wiener dogs and I’ve owned a lot of wiener dogs over the years,” he said. “I own one wiener dog now and he’s 14 years old, but I’ve got a special place in my heart for wiener dogs. They are just a cool dog and I really enjoy them … and watching these little kids’ smiles light up, they love these races and I just enjoy having the opportunity to do that.”

At this year’s races, Stella, the wiener dog from Little Falls, and her owners Ashley Hastings and Tayler Murphy, successfully defended their championship from all competitors and repeated as back-to-back champions of the Looney Days Wiener Dog races.