If those aren't clear enough signs of the bond humans share with canines, consider Homer Mayor Jim Hornaday purposefully bringing attention to his gray beard and its similarities to Sparky's. Or Alice Speedy of Indiana messing up her neatly coiffed gray hair just to look like Lucky. Or Wayne Grossman of Arizona dressing himself and Lilly in matching court jester costumes.
Wearing a sign that read "in honor of Buckwheat," Jet and his person, Gaye Wolfe, participated in the Strut for an acquaintance who was taking his last breaths on Saturday. Later in the day Buckwheat left behind this life and his companion of 15 years, Robert Walsh.
Wearing a ribbon designating her as the day's "Honorary Dog," Loosie was another example of the strong tie that exists between humans and canines. Loosie's back was broken and she was thought dead after being run over by a four-wheeler. But, thanks to Sherry Bess, the rest of the crew at the Homer Animal Shelter and veterinarian Dot Sherwood, Loosie is well on the road to recovery. She now lives with the Dan Bartos family and has assumed responsibility for the well-being of the family's five children, refusing to go to bed at night until each one is tucked into bed.
"She has finally found the perfect situation," Bess said of the tail-wagging two-year-old yellow lab and retriever mix.
Best trick: Molly Bowen's Kisha
Best costume: Zoe Story's Dusty
Owner-dog look alike: Jane Speedy and Lucky
Best tail-wagger: Robert Yett's Tuvic
Oldest dog: Robert Yett's Tuvic, 14.5 years
Youngest dog: Kelsey Gaswint's Daecee, 4 months and three days
Best dog kisses: Carol Kerkvliet's Kusko
Largest dog: John Hamilton's Moby
Smallest dog: Robin Daugherty's Moose
Ugliest dog: Robin Daugherty's Moose
McKibben Jackinsky can be reached at mckibben.jackinsky@homernews.com.
Friendship was everywhere at Saturday's Strut Your Mutt, an annual event organized by Homer Animal Friends that raises funds for a spay/neuter program. But who was whose best friend was hard to tell. Canines slurped kisses, wagged tails, paraded in costume and jumped hurdles to make humans happy. Humans filled wading pools with doggie drinking water, gave away bags of crunchy food, provided a team of "scoopers" to keep the 1.5-mile strut route neat and tidy and bragged about every trick Fido has ever done.
"Dog people understand," Walsh said of Jet and Wolfe's support. "This is a great community for that."
Results from Strut Your Mutt 2005:
We encourage you to add your comments. To prevent spam, comments with links are manually approved during the normal business day. Please be respectful of others with your comments, bear in mind anyone in the community may be reading your comments.
