Furmont
Day
gets
two tails up
By Stephanie Long
Contributing Writer
THURMONT,
Md. – If the number of wagging tails were any indication,
it was clear at the first Furmont Day that both man and his
best friend were having a great time.
Forty
dogs and their owners braved the heat and showed up at the
event to compete in various events. Awards were handed out
for the smallest dog, largest dog, waggiest tail, singingest
dog, best costume, favorite pet photo and winner of the doggy
musical chairs.
Thurmont
Mayor Martin Burns, who owns three dogs himself, attended
the event and had the somewhat difficult task of judging the
contests.
Apparently
there was a great deal of discussion as to who the smallest
dog was, but after some time Coal, owned by Kim Baumgardner,
was named the tiniest winner of the day.
Other
events were not so difficult to judge.
“The
best costume was a no brainer,” Burns said, in reference
to picking Daisy, owned by Jennifer Jackson, who was dressed
up as a clown.
Naming
Rudy, owned by Victoria Creyle, the singingest dog was not
a hard decision to make either, Burns said, nothing that Rudy
“sang to her hearts content.”
When
asked about his technique on judging the dogs, Burns said
that he didn’t really have one because it wasn’t
that complicated. He explained that for instance, when he
had to judge for the waggiest tail, “I just walked around
the back of the dog and looked at the tail,” Burns said
with a chuckle.
Despite
the demands of being a judge, Burns enjoyed the event and
was pleased with the turnout and is looking forward to the
new Furmont Day scheduled for October.
“It
was really nice. I loved seeing the dogs and interacting with
them,” Burns said. “I’d love to do it in
October, especially when the weather is cooler.”
Vickie
Grinder, Thurmont’s Main Street manager and creator
of the event, owns two dogs herself and was also pleased with
the event and the turnout.
“I’m
very happy, especially considering the temperature,”
Grinder said.
Although
none of the dog’s said anything discernable to the human
ear, their large tongue-filled smiles and wagging tails seemed
to indicate that despite the heat, they were happy as well.
The
next Furmont Day is scheduled for Saturday, October 6.
Complete
list of winners
Favorite Pet Photo: Lily, owned by Scott and Michele Kauffman
Winner of Doggie Musical Chairs: Sugar, owned by Jon (can’t
make out name)
Smallest Dog: 1st place- Coal, owned by Kim Baumgardner
2nd place- Bella, owned by Ryan Lookingbill
Largest Dog: 1st place- Boomer, owned by Shannon and Eric
Doyle
2nd place- BoBo, owned by Dawn Biluda
Waggiest Tail: Rudy, owned by Victoria Creyle
Singinest Dog: Rudy, owned by Victoria Creyle
Best Costume: 1st place- Daisy, owned by Jennifer Jackson
2nd place- Lacey, owned by Claire Nichelson
