On Sunday, Edi, Kona, and I took an Uber car to SM by the Bay for the Doggie Pawlympics event. It was to begin at 10:00, but of course they were on Filipino time :-), so we had some time to kill. We walked the bay which is like a boardwalk with food vendors and rides. There is even a "Manila Eye" ferris wheel. We ended up at Starbucks - Edi and I enjoyed iced coffees while Kona enjoyed some water. It was a really nice way to begin the day; we were right on the bay and there was a great breeze
When we went back for registration, we found out that we had to purchase something from Pet Express (they were sponsoring the event) in addition to paying a registration fee. I stood in line with Kona making friends with the people and dogs standing in line with me while Edi went to Pet Express (it was around the corner) to buy something. He came back with a Kong Wubba and our ticket. Kona got measured and received his number "33."
We headed to the dock diving pool where people were already giving it a go. Dock diving is relatively new in the Philippines, and for some of the dogs, this was the first time they had been in the water. It was fun watching the dogs trying to decide if they were going to jump, walk down the ramp or go in at all. Some of the dogs were really little, and the jump would have been a long way down. It was finally Kona's turn. Of course Edi and Kona are old pros at dock diving, so they showed how it was done. Kona did a great job and got a lot of "ahs" when he jumped. Kona did two practice rounds and then he played in the small pools they had set up to keep cool.
It was time for the competition. Each dog got two go rounds with two jumps each. Kona jumped thirteen feet to beat the reigning champion and take first place!
At the awards ceremony Edi and Kona were awarded the first place trophy and a bag of Kibbles and Bits dog food. After the event, so many people came up to us and wanted their pictures taken with Kona - it was crazy and so much fun!
What a fun day we all had. Kona was wiped out and slept most of the way back to the apartment. Hopefully, there will be more events to come. :-)
