It rained cats and dogs in most of Southern California on Saturday, but at Los Alamitos Race Course it poured dogs and more dogs at the 20th annual Wienerschnitzel Wiener Nationals. Eighty-six dachshunds competed in the annual races to raise funds for the Seal Beach Animal Care Center. In the end, Josh and Brittany Snook’s Finn sank his competition in the championship race to win the title of Fastest Wiener In the West in front of an estimated crowd of 7,000.

Representing the city of Lawndale, located in the South Bay region of the Greater Los Angeles Area, Finn finished powerfully in the 50-yard final, rallying from way back to catch early leaders Katniss and Molly before holding off the fast closing Camilla Blu to win the final and the $1,000 cash prize that goes with first place. Finn also won a doghouse in the shape of a classic A-Frame Wienerschnitzel restaurant, championship trophy and blanket along with a berth in the national championship race at the Holiday Bowl in San Diego.

Only 2 years old, Finn’s reason for running is his love for a multicolored beach-ball that awaits him at the finish line. The longhaired strawberry cream doxie was dominant in the third of 10 trials, running like a rocket after his beach ball.

“The moment he sees that beach ball he goes crazy and wants to get it,” said Josh Snook. “We used to have a smaller ball that he would go crazy over. He loves to run and he loves balls. He is a slow starter when he runs, but he is a strong finisher. That’s why his name is Finn, as in finisher. We just enjoy supporting the Seal Beach Animal Care Center and we plan to donate some of our winnings to the Seal Beach Center. We’ll use some of the money to decorate Finn’s new doghouse.”

Over the years, the Wienerschnitzel Wiener Nationals at Los Alamitos Race Course has raised nearly $250,000 for the Seal Beach Animal Care Center, a non-killed shelter dedicated to finding new forever homes for lost and abandoned animals in the Orange County area.

Owned by Sonia Reynoso of Baldwin Park, the female doxie Camilla Blu earned $500 for rallying to finish second. Camilla Blu also started slowly before her valiant late run. The rest of the field in the championship race featured Dana and Steve Knitz’s Katniss of Mission Viejo, Lori Ortiz’s Maximus of La Mirada, Denise Meisner’s Ezri of San Diego, Julia Janov’s Molly of Redondo Beach, Marc Govenor’s Nikita of Redondo Beach, Leanne McCaslin’s Sadie of Garden Grove, Rachel Schmid’s Jimmy of La Mirada, and Trina Taylor’s Mia of Buena Park.

The event also features a Big vs. Tiny dachshund race and for the second straight year the smaller of the two doxies won the race. Linda Camisaca’s 7-pound dynamo Wilma of Bellflower outwitted Kelly Lopez’s Beefy of Walnut. In a race featured three wiener dog racing legends, 2009 Wienerschnitzel Wiener Nationals champion Presley defeated a pair of Long Beach doxies, last year’s Big vs. Tiny winner and former Wiener Nationals finalist Tootsie and 2013 champion Buddy Black.

The Rotary Club of Los Alamitos/ Seal Beach recently held its annual Demotion Dinner.

Outgoing Club President Todd Mattern, Los Alamitos Police Chief, recognized his board of directors for the year and received a gift from the club.

The Rotary Club enjoyed another successful year- adding several new members, conducting the annual youth fishing derby, and contributing to the community by recognizing the high school students of the month and donating to local non-profit organizations.

Dr. Milt Houghton was introduced as the incoming Club President for the 2015-16 year.

Houghton introduced his board of directors.

“I am excited to lead the club this year and look forward to continuing our community involvement,” said Houghton.

The Rotary Club of Los Alamitos/ Seal Beach meets at The Eagle’s Nest in Long Beach on the first and third Tuesdays of the month at noon, varies locations on the fourth and fifth Tuesdays of the month.

Visitors are welcome to meetings.

For more information, visit losalrotary.org.

Rotary International is an international service organization working to bring together business and professional leaders in order to provide humanitarian services, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world.

There are 34,282 clubs and over 1.2 million members worldwide.

Army Reserve Maj. Gen. Megan Tatu, commanding general of the 79th Sustainment Support Command honored four Army Reserve Officers for their decades of military service during a retirement ceremony at the 79th SSC headquarters, Joint Forces Training Base, Los Alamitos, on Saturday.

The honored retirees include Col. Roy Jewell, Lt. Col. Kelly Thies, Lt. Col. Adrian Hoadrea, and Maj. Willie Triplett.

The ceremony recognized their honorable Army Reserve service and the service and lifetime support of family and friends. The event hosted more than 100 attendees including Army Reserve Ambassador Ltc. (Ret.) Mike Teilmann, local governmental officials, soldiers, spouses, children, family and friends.

Los Alamitos City Council members Dean Grose and Shelley Hasselbrink honored the retirees with a special presentation of Certificates of Commendation to the retirees’ on behalf of the mayor, the city council, and the citizens of Los Alamitos.

The Calif. Army National Guard, 40th Inf. Div. Band played the National Anthem and ceremonial music during the ceremony.

Headquartered at the JFTB, Los Alamitos, the 79th SSC is a two-star command, which provides mission command to 221 units located in 19 states west of the Mississippi river. The 79th SSC currently has troops conducting logistical support operations in Afghanistan, Kuwait and other locations around the world.

The ceremony was conducted in coordination with the 63rd Regional Support Command.

Smile for a Lifetime scholarship recipient Bree Smentkowski saw her new smile for the first time after two years of wearing braces at Boulton Orthodontics on Tuesday.

The Smile for a Lifetime Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides free orthodontic treatment to individuals aged 11-18 who demonstrate financial need.

“I was nervous that it would be a lot of work to take care of the braces and it would be difficult and unusual, but everything’s been better than I actually thought it would be,” said Bree Smentkowski, 15.

Rossmoor Woman’s Club recently donated school backpacks for the fourth consecutive year to the Joint Forces Training Base Family Assistance Center in Los Alamitos.

The center provides support and help to the families of service personnel. RWC donated 148 backpacks and 75 notepads for children of military families before the start of school. Additionally, twelve Target $50 gift cards will be distributed to families as needed.

The RWC is a non-profit philanthropic group committed to helping the local community and schools. The annual Holiday Home Tour and Garden Tour fundraisers as well as donations from the section groups such as Potpourri make these donations possible.

The club is open to all women of the surrounding communities. For more information, please call 562-810-7139 or go online to rossmoorwomansclub.com.

Boys & Girls Club of Cypress’s annual summer program kicked off on Monday, June 15 with a week of exciting activities for new and returning members. The club was buzzing with activity. The theme for the week was “Aloha to Summer” and included a variety of fun activities to get to know one another. Members enjoyed a variety of Hawaiian activities such as limbo and hula contests, participating in a Pa Uma contest, making “Guri Guri” (Hawaiian ice cream), and creating tropical crafts.

Boys & Girls Club of Cypress has a commitment to preventing summer learning loss, so special guest Cypress Librarian Stephanie Anson visited to promote the library’s summer reading program with the theme “Read to the Rhythm”. Members at the club will “drop everything and read” for at least 20 minutes bi-weekly this summer and will earn incentives from the library for participating in the program. The club is also participating in the Boys & Girls Clubs of America program “Summer Brain Gain READ + STEM.” Different daily activities are incorporated into morning program rotations with an emphasis on reading, science, and math concepts.

Throughout the month of June, the club celebrated Internet Safety Month. Members participated in the online program Netsmartz, which teaches the importance of staying safe online. To further reiterate the message, Cypress Police Department’s Community Outreach Officer Julie Marquez recently visited and gave presentations to the members about cyberbullying plus how to safeguard personal information online.

To celebrate the beginning of summer, Cypress Kiwanis recently provided a pancake breakfast “luau.” Members and their families enjoyed an all-you-can-eat pancake feast and got to mingle with the summer staff from the club.

For more information about the Boys & Girls Club of Cypress summer program, please call 714-527-2697 or visit online at www.boysandgirlsclubofcypress.com.