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DES MOINES, Iowa — A small group of Corgi dog lovers planned a small fundraiser, which drew over 1700 people and 134 dogs to race.

The idea came from Corgi races sponsored by the Queen of England.

The event billed as a fundraiser for the Animal Rescue League drew people into the hot sun to wait for the dogs. The cute dogs known for affectionate personalities did not disappoint.

The dogs were to race a grassy area roughly the size of a residential driveway. When the dogs began the race, they were not always clear which direction they should be running. This made for a rather chaotic finish in the first two heats of the race. Five heats were planned due to the huge number of entries.

“We just didn’t know there were this many Corgis in the Des Moines area,” said Laura Meinert, one of the organizers, whose parents have two Corgis. “We started out thinking it was going to be 15-20 dogs, and here we are with over 130 registered.”

“They are more like a roommate than a dog,” Tessa Veldhuizen said. “They’re like little people, they’re very sweet, affectionate, and social.”

The race organizers had no idea what to plan for in terms of response. The idea of the Queen of England’s race didn’t give any expectation of what would happen in Des Moines.

“It was a little bit grander than ours,” Veldhuizen said. “We’re going our best for the first one.”