The ears have it

[Crossfire Bulldogs]

Peculiar-looking corgis enchant and entertain
By Hillary Wolfe, Correspondent - Whittier Daily News

Around the container in a voracious circle were 10 Welsh corgi dogs. The weenie-bobbing contestants, strained at their leashes to get their snouts on those morsels.

Doug Hansford, the moderator of the event, looked at his stopwatch and instructed Trevor, the 3-year old companion of Beth Chilton, to demonstrate the concept: Eat as many pieces as possible in 10 seconds.

"How much of a pig is your corgi?" goaded Hansford.

Weenie-bobbing was just one of the many dog and human entertainment options at the Corgi Picnic, held at Johnny Carson Park in Burbank earlier this month.

The Welsh corgis (the Pembrokes, who don't have tails) and the Cardigans, who have bushy tails) were invited to come in costume to match this year's pirate theme and to play, socialize and compete for prizes.

Their human companions enjoyed a pot-luck picnic lunch, silent auction and the company of fellow corgi lovers.

Dolores Simpson of Silver Lake has organized this picnic for about 12 years.

"I wanted a place to have lunch with my girlfriends and my dogs, and this is what happened!" Simpson said.

The yearly picnic attracts about 60 dogs and their owners, and has come to be a fundraiser for corgi rescue groups.

The picnic started around 11 a.m., giving dogs a couple of hours to meet, shake hands, roll over and play ball. Some took the costume party more seriously than others. Buster, for instance, who arrived on the heels of Denise Hansford, was in full pirate regalia, complete with hat and parrot on the shoulder. His housemate, Patti (short for Peppermint Patti), however, chose to be more mythological, and wore a fairy costume because corgis are thought to be fairy steeds. For dogs who didn't come in costume, Simpson had plenty of pirate bandannas to go around.

Corgis are independent dogs, and personality clashes were bound to occur.

Patti, for example, had to be separated from other dogs because, while she loves people, Hansford said, "she's nasty to other dogs." However, wearing a costume allowed Patti to get a lot of attention, and several cookies she so adores.

"They can manipulate the bejeesus out of you," said Meshorer, "but once you're a Corgi person, they own you."

Joanna McKim, an agility trainer and head of a three-corgi family from San Diego, said her dogs enjoyed last year's cowboy theme, but this year, with 4-month old pup Georgie to worry about, McKim said her main goal was "just to get them in the car."

McKim became tethered to the breed after spending 16 years with a Pembroke who was her best friend.

"I vowed that I'm never going to be left without a dog," she said. "They're like potato chips. You can't have just one."

McKim was joined by friend and fellow corgi owner Gwen Meshorer of Culver City, whose one dog died last February, and whose second dog was too old to travel.

"It's lonely only having one," she agreed. "They can manipulate the bejeesus out of you. But once you're a corgi person, they own you."

The event was a bit provincial for pseudo-celebrity Scooter, handled by Lori Frost of Ventura. Scooter, so named because he loves to scoot on his belly for a laugh, has been on the "PetStar" TV show and was featured on a video distributed in Japan.

Although the party was fun, Frost confided that Scooter would rather be moto-crossing or playing tag. One of Scooter's housemates, Mercy, is a show dog from Finnish international bloodlines; their other companion, Russell, was the winner of the picnic's musical hoops competition.

Corgis "are the clowns of the dog world," Frost said.

First-time picnicker Pokey, who came with John Fisher of Westchester, also has other interests.

"There's nothing more fun in life than chasing somebody on a bicycle, especially if she has a squeaky toy in her mouth," Fisher said. "But she'll do anything for a cookie."

The fund-raising auction included corgi stuff like hand-painted tiles of corgis playing the bagpipes, planters shaped like corgis, corgi tee shirts, dog collars and baskets of treats.

Meanwhile, back at the weenie-bobbing, despite coaching to "just suck them down,"most of the dogs only managed to scarf down one or two hot dog pieces in 10 seconds. Big eaters were Keebler, owned by Christine Franco, who ate six pieces; Patti, who ate seven; and champion Trevor, who managed to down nine dogs in all.

"This is one of his favorite parts of the corgi picnic," said a proud Chilton.