If he had just stayed calm and stuck with his game plan, the 26-year-old Clayton resident might have shed the gnawing guilt and silence the barking what-ifs that had hounded him since he failed his beloved dog Pepper last year, sailing a piece of mystery meat high over his canine partner's head during the weiner toss finals of the Raleigh Dog Olympics.

When the judge said "Go!" on Saturday, the adrenaline of desire overpowered the pair: Pepper ran up too close, Curry threw it too hard, and another gold medal had eluded them.

"I throw like a girl," Curry said with a smile.

Pepper had no comment.

The weiner toss was one of 20 events featured at Saturday's 17th annual Dog Olympics. Scores of talented purebreds and mutts performed before more than 1,000 spectators in grueling tests of four-legged skill, such as begging, howling and jumping, the Frisbee toss and assorted tricks.

Sponsored by N.C. State University's student chapter of the American Animal Hospital Association, the event, held near the veterinary school off Hillsborough Street, is as much about education as fun.

"This is all about celebrating the bond between pets and their owners, and also about helping people learn about the meaning of responsible pet ownership," said Joan Hunt, a third-year veterinary student and chapter president.

Hunt said spaying and neutering are among the easiest things owners can do for their pets' health. "In males, it reduces their desire to wander, so that fewer of them get hit by cars or get lost," she said. "For females, it significantly reduces the rate of malignant mammary cancer."

The charitable event also offered people the chance to become pet owners. Six local rescue missions, which shared in the day's proceeds, were on hand. Lisa Imhof of Second Chance Pet Adoptions in Raleigh said the abandonment rate is shockingly high.

"Recently, we found a dog in the woods; his leash was tied to a tree, and an almost empty bag of dog food was beside him," Imhof said. "A lot of renters leave their pets behind when they move."

This deep bond between pets and their owners was best exemplified by a man who no longer has a pet, Willard Moore, 59, of Fuquay-Varina. In December 2006, he lost Molly, his English setter, to canine epilepsy. Since then, he has attended more than a dozen local dog shows and fairs to inform the public about the condition and to pay tribute to his dog's memory.

It was painful to see her suffer the way she did, Moore said. "Most people don't know that important research into this is being done right here at the vet school at N.C. State."

One of the most popular demonstrations at this year's Dog Olympics was staged by the Raleigh Police Department K-9 Unit. As he put his canine partner Phantom through the paces, senior officer Keith Pickens explained their work, including the fact that the officers avoid confusion by issuing their commands in a foreign language -- usually Dutch or German.

Nevertheless, kooky competition was the main attraction at the Dog Olympics. The 3-year-old Plott hound named Mauby-Fizz earned top honors in the morning's best trick contest by flawlessly praying, playing dead and wrapping herself up in a blanket. And Czar, a 4-year-old Russian wolfhound, repeated his double-medal feat of two years ago, winning the big dog high jump contest and the prize for longest tail -- 24 1/2 inches.

While the victors enjoyed their Milk-Bone spoils, other contenders vowed to fight on.

"It'll be another long, hard year of hot dog training," Ben Curry vowed. "But we'll be back."

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