Three Greater Victoria dogs have been crowned the fastest whippets in North America, after returning home from a near podium sweep at a national whippet racing championship in Indiana.
All three are from the same litter, bred by Craig Mearns on his North Saanich property.
Mearns flew to the midwest state with his two dogs, Ryder and Lucy, for the event, which took place in Danville, Indiana, on Oct.聽18-20. A James Bay woman, Marie Anne Piche, owns the third dog, Bubba.
The dogs are the offspring of Piche鈥檚 male dog and Mearns鈥檚 female dog, which came from a line of award-winning whippets bred at a kennel in Cobble Hill, which has since shut down.
After accumulating points based on their results in four races, Ryder came out on top of the pack of about 100 dogs, with Lucy in second. Bubba shared third place with another dog, Mearns said.
He was surprised how well his animals stacked up against the international competition.
鈥淣obody has one and two. That never happens,鈥� he said.
Mearns decided to travel to Indiana for the event after his dogs won several races on the West Coast, from Vancouver and Squamish to Seattle and Oregon.
The three dogs, all turning four this month, have a special gene that makes them quick, but can be a problem for breeding.
Mearns said they came from a litter of four, but the other dog doesn鈥檛 have the gene, and isn鈥檛 quite up to national championship standards.
Mearns doesn鈥檛 do much formal training with the dogs.
鈥淭hey kind of run up and down and around the property all the time. That鈥檚 how they get in shape,鈥� he said.
鈥淭hey train themselves.鈥�
Mearns thinks that鈥檚 an advantage for his dogs, because they work themselves as hard as they want to.
The dogs ran two types of races in Indiana: a straight track 182 metres long and a 275-metre oval race.
The canines chase a lure, which Mearns said is usually a white plastic bag filled with some rabbit skin or something that carries a scent, and a squeaker.
Mearns came home with ribbons and trophies 鈥� some so big he had to send them back with other competitors returning to the West Coast by RV.
As for the dogs, Mearns said they don鈥檛 need a reward.
鈥淭hey have a good time. They鈥檙e wagging their tails, so they鈥檙e very happy,鈥� he said.
When they鈥檙e not running around his property or winning聽races, Mearns said, the dogs like to聽curl up on the couch and relax.
