FOOTPRINT Lake Grapevine Runners & Walkers
July 2008
www.runnersandwalkers.com
Dogs Win for the 9th Straight Year at the Hound Dog Hustle By Chris Reyher
Dogs, Cooper and Sheldon, provide their owner, Steve Rush, with some racing tips.
O
n Saturday, April 19th, Lake Grapevine Runners and Walkers hosted their ever-popular signature running event attended by hundreds of runners and spectators. It is no surprise that for the ninth consecutive year, the dogs were again victorious at the 9th Annual Hound Dog Hustle! The Hound Dog Hustle (HDH) is a 5K road race, one mile fun run/ walk, and “adopt-athon.” In addition to the runners and spectators, it is
Marty Metzger serves as lead bike and chief navigator…without a GPS.
Caleb Bush races to stay in front of mom, Kirsten.
attended by representatives of 15 local dog rescue groups and their lovable candidates for adoption who eagerly meet and greet their potential new owners. Over the years, many close relationships have been initiated at the HDH, not to mention that nearly $50,000 has been contributed to the rescue groups from the proceeds of these races. This year, special recognition was given to a very popular demonstration participant who entertained and educated us for seven years. That participant was Darby, a German Shepherd and member of the Grapevine Police K9 Corps who passed away in 2006. Memorial awards of appreciation were presented to Darby’s handler, Senior Officer Brian Hintz, and the Grapevine Police Department. Darby is also memorialized on this year’s race shirts.
Kirsten Bush chases down speedy son, Caleb.
Very special thanks to our race director, Joe Luccioni, our loyal sponsors led by Pet Love, and the usual band of (mostly) merry volunteers who gave many hours of work to insure a quality, memorable event. And of course, congratulations to all of the HDH winners in both the four-legged and two-legged categories.
Karen Bosworth thinking she may adopt Kirsten Keats, but sticks with her dog.