Amazing Race Gets Rave Reviews

The Manassas Park Department of Parks and Recreation showcased its own spin on a prime time TV show Saturday through its Amazing Dog Race event.

The inaugural event began at the city's community center which is at Costello Park.

From there, race runners aimed to make it through the event's six destinations:  (1) Signal Hill Park, (2) Manassas City Animal Control, (3) Yappie Cuttery, (4) Speedy Green Car Wash, (5) Costello Park and (6) the community center.

Thirteen dogs participated in the event, which was organized by parks and recreation aquatics supervisor, Kim Baker, who also handles any dog- related events at the community center.

“We were excited to host another dog event to the four-legged community members. Everyone had a lot of fun and enjoyed themselves and that was what we wanted," Baker said after the event.

The event lasted about 2.5 hours, but the time went by fast, as racers were on the move most of the time. At Signal Hill Park, participates walked the trail to complete the first round, which was followed by an obstacle course at Yappy Cuttery.

At a couple of the stops, there was trivia and participants had to answer four questions correctly to move on.

The race was definitely fun and residents raved about it.

Callie, who took fifth place , participated in the event with her owner Dave Mauer. “Callie had a blast at the Manassas Park dog race! More fun than a barrel of squirrels!” Mauer said. 

Finnegan, a Boston Terrier, won first place in the event.  “We enjoyed the amazing dog race; the community center really knows how to bring in every member of the family," April Ramirez, Finnegan's owner, said. 

Max, and his owners Honey and Tony Pezzimenti won second place in the race. The couple said it was an “amazing” experience and for a really good cause.

Phelan and his owner Matt Arseneault thought it was a fun race. Norman and Andrea Mauck, who brought their two adorable young dogs Chloe and Spunky, said  “It was amazing (race) and my dogs loved it!”

Most of the participants found out about the event through the community center's email mailing list.

The event was sponsored by the  City of Manassas Animal Shelter, A City Dog, Pat’s Pampered Pets, Speedy Green, Yappie Cuttery  and Bloom’s Crossing Animal Hospital. All proceeds from the event go toward the new dog park being built by the community center.

The community center will have several more events during the spring and summer to raise money for the dog park. Residents are looking forward both to future events and to having a local dog park. Currently, the closest dog park is in Chantilly.

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