[News] Small in size, dog puts big bite on field
 

K Kaufmann
The Desert Sun
February 25, 2007

You've got to watch out for those Yorkies. They are fierce competitors.

Sweetpea, a miniature Yorkshire terrier with a purple ribbon in her furry little top knot, swept the competition for cutest dog Saturday at the Pet Parade fundraiser for the United Way at College of the Desert.

But the pedigree pup and owner Karen Palestis of Rancho Mirage were runners-up in the teacup category, where half a dozen owners and their miniature best friends engaged in an impromptu cute-trick pose-down. The winner, paws down: Doodles, a Yorkie mix that earned extra points with an irresistible high-five with owner Debra Wilson of Palm Desert.

"I've never won anything," Wilson crowed, after also knocking out the competition in the costume category, where Doodles donned prison stripes, complete with a teeny ball and chain.

The event, which raised about $1,100 according to COD staff, drew dogs and dog lovers of all shapes and sizes, for contests, an obedience demonstration and a few rounds of fly-ball, a doggie relay race.

Connie Reeder of Palm Desert, whose Great Dane, Samson, took the blue ribbon in the king-size dog contest, said she came out "to support the cause. It's good social skills for the dogs."

For spectator Trudie Harper of Indio, the fun of the event was tinged with sad memories of her dog, Tasha, a 16-year old shih tzu that died last month.

Tasha would have been a shoe-in for the tail-wagging competition, Harper said.

"She would wag her tail for anybody," she said.

http://www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbc...702250317/1050

AAWWwww