Dozer, goldendoodle

A local pup's accidental half-marathon run
May 19, 2011

Everyone knows that dogs love to run around. But most dogs don't like to run like Dozer.

The three-year-old Goldendoodle was a last-minute entry into last weekend's Maryland Half Marathon. His parents didn't even know he was running!

According to Karen E. Warmkessel, a spokeswoman for the University of Maryland Medical Center, Dozer escaped an invisible fence, lured by the thousands of racers running past his home, which sits near the Mile Five mark. The race benefitted the hospital's Greenebaum Cancer center.
Dozer joined the pack. Runners reported seeing him at several points along the route. The pup crossed the finish mark with other runners -- clocking in at 2 hours and 14 minutes!

Dozer’s owner, meanwhile, had no idea what happened to him and began a frantic search. The dog finally made it home -- but not until Monday morning. His feet were muddy and he was limping a bit. But according to a vet -- where his parents took him just in case -- he's just fine.

Meanwhile, Dozer now has his own runner’s page at the race website, where people can make donations in his name. He's already received quite a few. Here's what the pup writes on the site:

"Wow...I just finished my very first Half Marathon! I was sitting in front of my house on Sunday morning when a bunch of runners came running by. They looked like they were having such fun so i decided to join them. I forgot to tell my Mom that I was leaving and she was really upset!

Everyone was really nice to me so I just kept running passing first a sign that said Mile 3 then Mile 4 and so on until I saw this big sign that said Finish and everyone stopped running. Along the way i heard people talking about raising money for Cancer Research and I heard stories about people's loved ones. I was moved to take action so I set up this page to help out.

I had to walk all the way home after the race and Mom didn't find me at home until the next morning.....boy was I sore!! I overheard my Mom talking to the people who put the race on and they are coming over to give me a medal! Now I am resting and looking back on the great journey. Please help by donating to my page."



Source: http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/features/mutts/blog/2011/05/a_local_pups_accidental_halfma.html

Dozer's Race Page: http://www.ummsfoundation.org/dozer


Also see: http://espn.go.com/espn/page2/index?id=6567417

Dozer the dog runs solo Maryland Half Marathon
Thomas Neumann
Thu, May 19, 2011

It's four o'clock. Do you know where your dog is?

The owners of Dozer, a 3-year-old goldendoodle from Fulton, Md., didn't know the answer to that question on Sunday. Unbeknownst to them, Dozer escaped his invisible fence and joined the 2,000-plus runners competing in the Maryland Half Marathon, which benefits the University of Maryland's Greenebaum Cancer Center. Dozer joined the fray about five miles into the race, which is held in Howard County, Md., and he crossed the finish line at the 2:14:24 mark.

Maryland Half Marathon co-founder Jon Sevel said many runners spotted Dozer in various places on the course, at times lapping up water from cups at rest areas, but nobody realized the dog was running solo. After running the final seven miles or so of the event, Dozer found his own way home Monday morning. He's in good health after a precautionary trip to the vet and he received a medal from race organizers on Thursday.

"This is a very sweet dog," said University of Maryland Medical Center spokeswoman Karen Warmkessel. "When I saw him today, he looked great. He was really active, and now he's raising money for cancer research."