Sausage Dogs Shine at Club Scotts’ Dachshund Festival

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A barking good time was had by all as more than 60 sausage dogs descended upon a bowling green for Club Scotts’ inaugural Dachshund Festival on Sunday, 21 June.

The event at Scotts Head featured prizes for the best-dressed, longest and shortest dogs, drawing visitors from all over the NSW mid-north coast including Coffs Harbour, Bellingen and Kempsey.

Themed food and drinks and dog-product stalls added to the unique canine celebration.

The festival was held on World Dachshund Day, which coincides with winter solstice in the southern hemisphere and summer solstice across the globe — a cheeky nod to the sausage dog’s famously short legs and long body.

Club Scotts Secretary Manager Mark Singh, the proud owner of two dachshunds, was the driving force behind the initiative, which required the venue to remove its ‘no dogs’ policy for a memorable day.

“Dachshunds are a special breed of dog, and I think people that own them, we’re a special breed of people,” Mark says.

“I never wanted a dachshund — I'm a 120-kilo Fijian ex-rugby player, and me walking down the street with two dachshunds is just totally ironic.

“But once you get them, all of a sudden you find yourself wearing dachshund socks and you have a dachshund cup… everything in your life revolves around having dachshunds!”

All the dogs were on their best behaviour, according to Mark, with Club Scotts considering bringing the festival back next year after receiving an overwhelmingly positive community response.

The undoubted star of the show was a dog named Bert, who took out the best-dressed award for his adorable firefighter outfit. Having recently undergone spinal surgery, Bert’s stroller was decorated to look like a fire truck, while his owner donned a Rural Fire Service uniform to complete the get-up.

“It looked pretty cool — we were pretty happy that he won best dressed,” Mark adds.

Club Scotts’ new kitchen caterers, Stoney’s By The Beach, dished up gourmet hot dogs for the occasion, while bar staff served a popular ‘Woof-tini’ drink, complete with a paw print and Sheep Dog Peanut Butter Whiskey.

More than a quirky afternoon of fun, Mark believes the event showed what clubs can achieve by thinking outside the box.

“We had some really interesting comments — one lady said she lived in the area for 30 years and didn't even know our Club existed,” he says.

“We can't just be relying on our members and hoping they renew next year. We've got to be thinking of different ways to attract different people, different demographics and people with different interests.”