Speedy Gonzalez has nothing on Chalupa
Published: June 12, 2006
In keeping up a grueling race pace, corn chips and barbacoa do not training food make — even under the best of circumstances.
But the unusual combination beckoned Chalupa Salinas to the finish line once again, etching in stone her chances at defending her title as “Fastest Chihuahua in the United States.”
The dog of Hammond Councilman Al Salinas Jr. and namesake of “Team Chalupa,” the 7-year-old chihuahua took top honors in the Chicago Regional Qualifying Race recently, beating out 220 other chihuahuas.
Thursday afternoon, she and other team members — daughter Ivy, who’s 4, and granddaughter Copper, who’s 18 months — demonstrated how they get it done in Columbia Park.
Training was simple that day: Salinas’ son, Al Salinas III, held the three dogs while his father stood 20 or so feet away. The younger Salinas dropped the dogs on the ground, and after that, it was off to the races, with Chalupa beating Ivy by a head — a Chihuahua head.
“Ivy won the preliminary race (in Chicago), but then she had to go up against her mom,” said Salinas III, Ivy’s and Copper’s owner. “I think she threw the race for Chalupa.”
Last year, Subway sandwiches provided the 10-pound dynamo with finish-line incentive. But tastes change, and Chalupa and the girls prefer Fritos with a touch of barbacoa, or Mexican barbecue, Salinas Jr. said.
“She eats what we eat at home, and we always eat good,” he said. “We had barbacoa over the weekend, then chicken one day last week.”
“Yeah, and then when we bring her to my house to train for the race, it takes her three days to get used to the fact that she’s eating dog food,” the younger Salinas said with a laugh. “The last time, she lost a pound staying at my house.”
And really, when her “daddy” is at the finish line, food incentives are merely a bonus for Chalupa. Indeed, when Salinas Jr. took a phone call in his work vehicle, Chalupa jumped and cried, wanting to get back to her rightful place alongside him.
“Chalupa’s a great race dog, very calm and focused,” Salinas III said. “But she cries to get to (Salinas Jr.).”
“Last year, when we were at the hotel in San Diego, the desk asked us how Chalupa liked her bed, a nice big velvet pillow,” Salinas Jr. said. “And I said, ‘I’m sure she thought it was OK, but she slept in the king-size bed with me.’ ”
Chalupa will defend her title in San Diego once again in September, when she goes up against Sam, the Dallas regional winner, and a host of other speedy chihuahuas. Since event sponsor Petco added three more regions to the race, the Salinases expect the competition to be tighter. But with Ivy and Copper, the dreams of keeping top honors aren’t at all dead.
“Even little Copper finished the race, and that’s all we wanted her to do,” Salinas III said.
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