This Saturday’s pug races, sadly, have been canceled because of the heat. Anyway, here’s some trash talk SN&R wrote earlier:

Doggy Dash is this Saturday, and it’s been Hell Week for Bernie.

First, my two-year-old pug did laps around Capitol Park—and even ran the stairs at the parking garage near the Crest Theatre. Twice. But I’m not slave driver. After that, it was massages, rawhides and some Arrested Development on Netflix.

But too much leisure is for the weak, so the next day, we hit the dog park for wind sprints. Twenty-yard dashes, back and forth. You’ve never seen such explosiveness. What a beast, my Lil B.

(That’s his nickname. I also call him Burn, Burner, BeeBee, Chooch, Little Buds, Berner Herzog, Buddha, etc.)

It’s all in the name of training: As of this writing, there’s a little more than a week until the 20th anniversary Doggy Dash at William Land Park. It’s a classic Sacto event: There’s a 5,000-dog 5K walk, doggy-disk catching, and pet-friendly businesses selling wares. But the don’t-miss moment is no doubt the seventh annual Pug Races and the Running of the Pugs.

That’s where Bernie’s gonna shine. Because, when he’s not smelling other dogs’ butts, he smells victory.

The Pug Races go like this: Nearly 100 pugs converge on the park, pay a $5 registration fee, then race. Winners of each heat make it to the final race.

After that, they give Bernie the first-place ribbon.

All right, so I’m a proud, cocky parent. You would be, too, if you had 14-pounds of rocket fuel on the end of your leash.

SPCA’s 2013 Doggy Dash and the seventh annual Pug Races, Saturday, June 8, at William Land Park, 3800 South Land Park Drive. Some events are free, some require registration; find out more at http://sspca.convio.net.