Mel Meier encourages her Chihuahua Ox across the finish line. Photo by Charlie JohnstonIt’s a rat! It’s a furry remote controlled car! No, it’s a Chihuahua, running as fast as its four-inch-long legs can carry it. About 150 of the diminutive dogs raced Saturday and Sunday in the ninth annual Bully’s Sports Bar and Grill Chihuahua Races at the Pyramid Way and McCarran Boulevard location in Sparks to raise $2,100 for the SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals).

As a newcomer to this odd spectacle (if any Chihuahuas are reading this, please don’t take any offense, I am referring to your owners) I had no idea what to expect. The images that haunted my thoughts leading up to the event were of a bunch of ear-piercingly yappy, shivering canines swarming around the floor...

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John Ascuaga’s Nugget, located in Sparks, Nevada, will screen movies from the Banff Mountain Film Festival on April 1 and April 2, 2008.

The Banff Mountain Film Festival celebrates the outdoors, including climbing, mountain expeditions, remote cultures, and the world’s last great wild places.

The screening will happen on both nights and be shown on multiple screens in the room to ensure a great view no matter where you are. There will also be a raffle to benefit the Nevada Land Conservancy.

Tickets are available through the Nugget’s website or by calling the ticket office.

More information:

• John Ascuaga’s Nugget
• Banff Mountain Film Festival
• Nevada Land Conservancy