It’s exhilarating to watch your child compete. They don’t tell you that part when you become a parent. That day the bundle of joy comes home in your arms, you owe them the world. You have a responsibility, not just to their well-being, but to their interests. So, when my fiancé approached me about entering our corgi into a race, I knew Beauregard (Bowie, for short) would love to go fast.

Along with a contingent from the Magic City Corgi and Friends Facebook group, we were the halftime entertainment during UAB’s men’s basketball game on Jan. 20. Two heats. One champion. Glory, and a swag bag from the Blazers were bestowed to whichever pup could seize the opportunity. And I was going to try my hardest to make sure that was our 2-year-old tri-color.

But was he good enough? Was this all just to fuel my competitive ego? That’s what we sought to answer in training. Bowie’s mom and my partner, Julia Conser, could wrangle him the best, so we deemed her the starting line holder. He’d be running to Papa. We used the park near our apartment, using a never-ending game of fetch to warm up his stumps. After a few sprints during an early session, Bowie started to slow down and my nerves took over.

About 15 months ago, Bowie was prescribed anti-inflammatories after his front right paw got caught in a gate. He then jumped off the bed and whimpered, favoring the same arm. Twenty minutes and an emergency trip to the vet later, the doctor deemed Bowie OK and a good actor, but refilled his prescription meds. When we got home after practice, I dug through his toy bin to find the pill bottle.

A week later, I scouted the competition on Facebook the night before the first corgi meet-up, I was nervous about Bolt and Keegan, — sometimes you can tell when a dog has that dog in ‘em. Yet, Bowie did great, winning the first trial and behaving well enough for a pup socialized during the pandemic. Was he the fastest? No, but he qualified.

Honestly, I was probably more nervous than he was while the Blazers battled East Carolina. Bowie, the racers and some handlers waited for intermission inside UAB’s softball locker room. (Shout out to Eli, Cy and the entire UAB marketing staff for the hospitality.) As they walked onto the court, Bowie and I made eye contact.

“This is what we were here for,” I tried to telepathically communicate to my dog. Bowie’s tongue started to droop out the side of his mouth.

We were in lane No. 4, in between the basket and the home bench. One dog got about a half-a-second head start, as video replay would later confirm, and while Bowie started quickly, he slowed past midcourt and didn’t handle a congested runway down the stretch.

A basketball court is 94 feet long. The training lane in our apartment was 47 feet. That would explain the stamina. Could we have done more? Should we have bought blinders? Did we fail him? A staffer tip-toed around the tails, found Bowie and asked me if he was one of the top three racers that would advance to the finals. I could’ve complained about the dog that cheated. I could’ve said Bowie snuck in. But then Nick Saban popped into my head.

The former Alabama head football coach had taught me a thing or two about respecting competition and being prepared for the moment. As Bowie’s guardian, I had to set the same example. Bowie placed fourth in his heat, I confirmed to the aide.

The eventual winner, 2-year-old Cash Money, breezed through the finals.

“We were surprised. We didn’t go to the practices. But they needed more corgis,” Cash’s owner, Iris Claros, said post-race. ” … I was like, ‘Maybe with a squeaker we’ll have some luck.”

For his effort, Bowie took home a plastic, UAB-branded bowl. His grandparents were already congratulating him via text message. Some wanted to speak to race officials about the conditions. Bowie, meanwhile, drifted off into an afternoon nap on Julia’s knee during the car ride back home. I looked over from the driver’s seat, the sun shining on my burgeoning family, and realized I found exactly what I was looking for.

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].