Darwin , Pippen, Alice, Ellie, Maddylu. Bobo, Dewar, Barry, 2B , Jadzia, Bella, Gunther, Ashley, Flip, Claire, Blanche, Tigger, Daisy, Moe, Chilli Dog, Romeo, Burt, Lilly Bird, Ray, Zsa Zsa, Gabor, Rusty, Jennie, Tina, Bagel , Moe , Buddy, Megan, Mariah, Merlin, Caesar, Ben,
Sam Pak, Lucy Lee, Fizz, Roo, Hendrix, Riley, Rasken, Tekla and Corky
BF2K - The Story
BF2K, The Northern California Beaglefest, took place on June 3, 2000 at the Remington Dog Park in Sausalito, California. Beaglefests are events that beagle owners organize so beagles can have the opportunity to play and romp with one another and also so the families of these beagles can meet one another and swap stories about life with these wonderful hounds. Beaglefests occur throughout the country and they are primarily organized as a labor of love (and it's fun too!).
As one BF2K participant told a friend before the event, "Yeah I'm going to go to that beagle party and join all the other 'wierdo' beagle owners." To the outside world, we may seem eccentric in our devotion to our dogs, but if you are a dog owner (specifically a beagle owner) you understand.
The event drew 46 beagles for a day of romping, fun, and competitions. Remington Dog Park in Sausalito was the location for BF2K. Remington is situated in a lovely part of Sausalito in Marin County with rolling hills supplying a beautiful backdrop. Moreoever, Remington is built for dogs. Totally fenced in and well maintained through the auspicies of the Dog Owners Group in Sauasalito, this park was an ideal spot to allow these more than one and a half score of hounds to romp off leash.
After the first hour's "greeting romp and sniff", people enjoyed a picnic lunch (it was a bring your own picnic event) while all the beagles eyed the food.
With lunch eaten (ideally NOT by the beagles), the beagles geared up for a half hour of grueling competition. The BF2K competitions were tailored to the unique beagle personaility and included "Does Not Come When Called", "Shortest Down Stay", "Ignores Owner The Longest" and "The Grossest Thing My Beagle Ever Picked Up Was...". All the dogs in attendance competed very strongly in all categories. The "Grossest Thing" Contest was a real squeaker since so many entries were...well....GROSS! First place winners were given a blue ribbon and a new doggie toy. Second place winners got a red ribbon and third place dogs received a white ribbon. Special recognition was given to BoBo from Santa Monica and Maddylu from Northridge for "the beagles who travelled the furthest to be at BF2K. Most other beagles were from the Bay Area, Central Valley and the Sacramento area.
After the tense moments of competition that included the thrill of victory and the agoncy of defeat, dogs were treated to a variety of home made dog biscuits and people had a slice of birthday cake. BF2K was organized by Randy Allgaier and Lee Hawn of San Francisco in part to celebrate the second birthday of their beagle - Darwin. Additionally Randy and Lee thought it might be a great opportunity to raise some funds for a few humane organizations. The event was open to all (a few honorary beagles were in the park) and free however $500.00 was raised by the generosity of some of the BF2K beagles (although their people wrote the checks).
The day's festivites ended with more romping, chasing and sniffing. From all accounts, beagles went home and napped and slept and dozed from a full day of beagleness!
