The Calgary Westie Walk ...

Abbey is not sure about this other Westie sniffing her butt

Last Sunday morning was the annual Calgary Westie Walk held at Confederation Park, just a few minutes north from our place.  I headed along with a freshly brushed Abbey, not sure what to expect.  At first, I was slightly concerned about finding the group since Confederation Park is huge.  I shouldn't have worried because I simply joined the hordes of people with Westies entering the park.  I arrived and was surprised to see how many Westies there were ... 88 in total, I later heard!  Abbey's first reaction was to race off and play with as many of the other Westies as she could but she quickly realised how many people and dogs were there and got a little overwhelmed by it all, so she stuck by my side for most of the time, venturing out occasionally to say hello to a fellow highlander.  After 45 minutes of play time, the walk began and we all followed a bagpiper as she wandered through the park for about 15 minutes (I was expecting the actual walk part to be a little longer!) and gathered back at the baseball diamond.  The next scheduled activity was the Westie Games ... two different events that you could 'race' in.  Abbey and I tried the 'hotdog bob' but Abbey decided that no matter how tasty the 'teaser hotdog' was, she wasn't going to stick her mouth in the water to retrieve the pieces!  I declined to enter her in the next event which involved putting her inside a box and then chasing after a toy once the box opened.  Some people were shoving their reluctant dogs into the box and I didn't want to traumatise Abbey, so we simply watched.  Not long afterwards, I decided I'd had enough gallivanting around with other Westie owners so Abbey and I headed home where she, exhausted by all the stimulation that comes with hanging out with 87 other Westies, fell promptly asleep.

88 Westies ...

... including some who dressed up for the event

Abbey just loved rolling in the grass

Following the piper around the park

Lovely day for a stroll in the park

The piper at the end  of the walk

Getting ready for the hotdog bob

One of the activities in the Westie Games ...

... and they're off, chasing the 'rabbit'

 These two did not give up chasing the toy ... they ran around the whole field

 

Abbey - tired and satisfied by the end of the morning