PETCO Unleashed National Chihuahua Race Finals

[MarinaUlliel]

Hello PETCO fans! I was at the chihuahua races too, and it sure was fun for the kids I was babysitting! My little mini schnauzer with his mohawk wanted to join in too-in response to PETCOHATER, I have to say that PETSMARTSUCKSEVENMORE!

[PETCOHATER]

PETCO says: ...Next year, well be sure to refer to the instant replay before we announce our winners. THANKS FOR ADMITTING YOUR MISTAKE. AND MAKE SURE THAT NEXT TIME: THERE WILL BE NO IDIOT/EXTRA PERSON TO DISTRACT THE RACERS IN THE BOX & STARTING ANNOUNCEMENT WILL BE CLEARLY HEARD TOO. THE PETCO RACE IS ALREADY 4 YRS RUNNING. IF THEY'VE LEARNED FROM THEIR MISTAKES THOSE YEARS, 2009 RACES WILL DEFINITELY BE PERFECT FOR THE CHIS AND THEIR PET PARENTS. LOVE WATCHING THIS RACE! CHIHUAHUAS RULE!

[azsumrg1rl]

We weren't surprised the videos show a discrepancy from the judge's ruling -- It's fairly clear that Tiger won, but it's a crapshoot for the next few places. I'd almost suggest dividing the race into heats like they did for the regionals. Despite the discrepancy and the shoddy starting announcement, we had a great time. Bragging rights are great, but the free trip was the better prize.

[meldimarco]

U r right. We should just focus on the Regionals and just look at the Nationals as a great free vacation. There are just too many things that can go wrong, specially at a venue like that! And when the officials don't even bother with a False Start and winners' placings? U can forget about it!

[PETCOHATER]

horrible race start then wrong placings in the end? i've hated petco because of the mistreated animals for sale. now this? this could've been an awesome project for petco, why sabotage it? is it really that hard to play back the video? be professional, petco staff! sponsors, publicity & marketing are at the top of your list: it's all about the money for you. pathetic, you disgust me! i feel bad for the owners & their dogs. they all spent time & effort to train for this race. PETCO SUUUCCKKSSS!!!

[MommyofChloeSF]

I have nothing but praises for Brooke though, who was our host. She was very professional since after the regional and specially throughout the San Diego event. I'm sure her hands were tied behind her back and had very little or no control over the outcome. I was surprised how young she was, and yet be so organized and responsive to our needs. She made our stay very pleasant and we hope to have her again next time.

[classic620]

It was really disrespectful for Petco not do the re-start after the false start. I mean, it wasn't like the contestants are just off the street and invited to participate in the race. I'm sure everyone and their dogs trained many months for this. Petco dissed the fact that a "correct" start means the most since winning and losing is differentiated by hundredths of a second at this level! And with the wrong 2nd and 3rd placings? When was this, the 1800's?! Playback the videos for goodness sake!!!

[classic620]

The racers were promised that the emcee will be heared through the main stadium speakers so everyone were waiting for that loud voice since we were hearing the sport announcers just fine through the 1st inning. It would have been better if they said to just stick your dogs' nose against the start gate and just wait for it to open! Another BOO for Petco!

[astonishedspectator]

i don't understand why they can't do a re-start? it's not like PETCO pays a lot of $ for "air time". hello? the race isn't even televised. why not re-start? it takes less than 3 sec for a race to finish. PETCO edited this video so people won't see/hear the host w/ a faulty mic. no one can hear her; what a catastrophe!! to make things worse, wrong placings in the end. how tragic! of course, you won't admit these stupid mistakes to the media. bad press for PETCO, right? CLEAN IT UP, PETCO PEOPLE!!

[MommyofChloeSF]

CONGRATULATIONS to Tiger!!! The confusing start wasn't any of the dog's fault. TIGER did what he had to do--- RUN as fast as the wind! He definitely finished FIRST. Your pet parents (Cathy & company) are truly wonderful. Loved chatting with them :) See you all next year!

[MommyofChloeSF]

Outstanding accommodations by PETCO: THANKS:) But truly disappointed in how the organizers handled the race. How can the race be FUN if it didn't start "RIGHT"? PETCO didn't care about their mistakes as the "SHOW MUST GO ON". Regionals are clean, accurate & organized. So,we expected the same thing during the nationals. Sadly, PETCO didn't deliver. Hopefully, next year will be a lot different. Too bad no one saw how fast Chloe' was:( We'll be back next year. Faster, Wiser. GO CHLOE'!GO PALO ALTO!

[SofiaBaby27]

Can't believe how DISORGANIZED the nationals race was! How can PETCO be oblivious to their obvious mistakes? (1)false start (2)not hearing the emcee say the most important part of the race "READY, SET, GO!" (3)wrong placings. Great job, PETCO!*sheesh* It's not even dog error but HUMAN error! Poor dogs & owners who trained for months. It's sad but I've to agree that this race is all about marketing. They should've done a re-start. A "fair" one at that. Hopefully, next year will be much better.

[hurathi1]

This was the best race at San Diego as far as accomodations go but THE WORSE as far as the actual race go. Last year's was almost perfect except for too many ppl in the race box which resulted Clarabelle's mishap. The other aspects such as the VERY professional emcee was great, so why did they change that part? The new female emcee was more concerned about "projecting" to the camera than communicating to the racers! She didn't even have any kind of body gesture for the start count! FALSE START!!

[classic620]

And now the "placings" are all wrong?! No disrespect to Tiger, but the PETCO officials "doctored" Tiger's official time from 2.3 to 1.9 seconds, as if to say "don't even bother protesting about the False Start because your dog can never do 1.9 anyway!" I'm beginning to think PETCO is not even concerned who the "fastest" Chi really is, or they would've had a re-start. PETCO just want a "winner" so they can go on with the promotions and win more sponsor$!

[meldimarco]

The "START" was unfair in the first place since NO ONE heard the emcee. They even cut that out of this clip here and covered it up with music. That kind of scattered start only happens in eliminations at the Regionals, not at the Nationals for goodness sake! I see owners still holding their Chis up in the air when the gate opened! Then, 3-4 Chis just barely coming out of the gate as the first ones are about to cross the finish line! We are talking about veteran dogs and owners here.

[dipitis]

OMG, Petco called the places wrong...Tiger got first but after reviewing my video, taken at a different angle, it's clear who came in when. 2nd was Maddy, 3rd was Cricket, tie for 4th/5th/6th between Puka, #11 (Poppy?) and #14 (Mia?), 7th was Mijo, 8th was Pancho (who Petco said was 3rd!), 9th was Kahlua, 10th was Isabelle, 11th was Piccolo (who Petco said was 2nd- yeah right!), and I didn't bother placing the rest. So congrats to the real 2nd and 3rd placers Maddy and Cricket!

[dipitis]

Congrats to all the 2008 racers! We had lots of fun competing with you! Anyone know if all the dogs were ranked as they came in? Puka was in the lead until about the last 1/3 of the race, then slowed down. We were wondering what place she came in at.