Doggie derby

They sniffed out the competition, ears perking and eyes popping with dogged determination. Tequila shot out the gate, her tutu a plume of pink. Oscar bounded for the finish line. But it was Tiffany Diamond who sparkled in the end, after a 3.25-second dash from start to finish, a snout in front of her competitors. "She's been champing at the bit. She wanted to run," said Susan Faiola. And so, Tiffany ran like the wind on a breezy day. "I knew she was a shoo-in for the prize -- actually a paw-in," added Rick Faiola, her husband. Tiffany, a 3.5 pound Chihuahua, stayed cool under pressure despite the ferocious competition: nearly 120 other Chihuahuas with eyes on the prize -- a trip this fall to San Diego to compete in Petco's third annual Chihuahua Races against top dogs from 14 other regional races.