For Jack, a nearly 2-year-old dachshund, winning Saturday's Dachshund Derby was just another accomplishment in what his owner describes as an extraordinary life.
Owner Jonnie Barnes of Mexico said Jack also won the race, costume contest and longest dog categories at an event in Gerald in August.
But Jack's true claims to fame are things that he hasn't been trained to do: answering the phone and looking after Barnes' other dog, Boomer, which is blind.
"When we take them out, if Boomer gets too close to the street, Jack corrals him the other way," Barnes said. "He's a very intelligent dog."
When the phone rings, Jack knocks it off the ringer and barks into the receiver. Residents of Mexico know to hang up when they call the Barnes residence and hear barking. After waiting a couple minutes, a human from the Barnes household will call them back.
"We love him. He's quite the dog," Barnes said.
The second-place winner at Saturday's Oktoberfest was Joey, owned by Lisa and Eric Schlotz. Third place went to Gypsy, owned by Jessica Otley.
The costume contest results were:
• First place: Dixie, Coco and Grace, owned by Connie Miller and Frankie Girdley.
• Second place: Trooper Spoke, owned by Karen and Brian Douglas.
• Third place: Slinky and Twinkie, owned by Leah Strobel.
Karen Jennings, who helped coordinate the event, said the number of competitors were down from last year, but she thanked people for coming out in the rainy weather.
"We didn't know if we were going to have a dachshund slip-and-slide, or a race," she quipped.