The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics has been a tremendous display of talent and determination as demonstrated by gold medalists Lindsey Vonn, Evan Lysacek, Shaun White and Shani Davis. While these athletes are making headlines, and rightly so, another worthy competition deserves some light shed upon it…

WELCOME TO THE 2010 WINTER GAMES K9 STYLE!

The Athletes

Meet Shamus, reigning champion.

Shamus had first proved himself in a qualifying run during last spring’s final snow. Tim, his coach, believes he shows a great deal of promise. A descendant from Newfoundland, he weighs in at 96 pounds and is chock full of talent, speed and stamina. His new winter coat is designed for the rigors of competition. His spirits are high going into this year’s games. Winter is, after all, his favorite season.

Meet Emmett, the contender.

Emmett is a 60 pound Brittany Spaniel mix. He is extremely athletic, compact, and solidly built. With a little help from Vera Wang, his costume could use some thermal improvement for this particular competition. After eating his previous fashionable coat though, his owner has decided to invest in other areas of Emmett’s training. No worries. This dog has bounding energy that may heat things up just enough to get him through.

The Events

This year’s games include the following:

• THE CRAB APPLE LEAP
  Having trained in apple trees throughout the fall, our contenders are well suited to score high in collecting fermented crab apples topped with a dusting of snowy confection.
• THE TRACKING EVENT
  Putting their noses to the test, can they find crab apples under a foot of snow?
• THE JOLLY RUN
  The beacon is a large red Jolly Ball TM. Each contestant is required to retrieve the ball at top speed and return it to their trainer.

Without further ado, it is my pleasure to sound the starting bell.

“LET THE GAMES BEGIN!”