We're on our way, all you lucky dogs

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Hal Anderson will be grilling hotdogs today. (DOUG SPEIRS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ARCHIVES) Photo Store

It has come to this, Winnipeg. This afternoon, instead of tapping away at the keyboard in my tiny office cubicle, I will be lurking in a back lane on Main Street.

Let me be perfectly frank: While most of you are earning an honest living by the sweat of your brow, I will be peddling hot flesh downtown.

For the record, I will not be undertaking this alone. I will be serving as the assistant to a man everyone in town used to know by a single name -- the "Dogfather."

I am referring to my pal Hal Anderson, whom most of you know as host of CJOB's morning show and -- prepare to be impressed -- the 34th greatest Canadian of all time, a title he earned after a groundswell of fan support in a CBC contest in 2004.

What you may not know about this big shot radio personality and statistically significant Canadian is that, a few years back, he was also the ruler of a red-hot hotdog empire that dominated Winnipeg's wiener wars. Back then, the Dogfather oversaw at least eight hotdog carts but, as his radio career started to sizzle, he didn't have time for the demands of the dogs, so he dumped all his carts, except for one, which he rolls out half a dozen times a year for charity.

For the second straight year, Hal, his beloved hotdog cart (Big Hal's Big Dogs) and myself were auctioned off at the Winn$tock battle of the bands event to raise funds for the Manitoba Riding for the Disabled Association, which offers an amazing therapeutic horseback-riding program for kids with special needs.

When a colleague needed a prize to raise cash for the riding program, I bravely suggested he call Big Hal, because when it comes to helping kids, my buddy has a hard time saying no. I offered to be Hal's sidekick in a sincere and humanitarian effort to eat free hotdogs.

Excuse me for getting a little maudlin, but Riding for the Disabled has a special connection for both Hal and I.

Kevin Rollason, a Free Press reporter, has written many times in these pages about his 15-year-old daughter, Mary, who was born with Down syndrome and also has cerebral palsy and is microcephalic.

Kevin says the riding program changed Mary's life.

"When Mary first joined the program, she could sit on the floor but she had very little trunk control," Kevin told me.

"Now her trunk is so strong she can sit on a chair or couch at school or at home with little assistance. It has also helped her get the strength she needs to take steps in a walker. Who knows? She might walk some day!

"This program is invaluable for special-needs children. While there are dozens of volunteers helping, it's still expensive for the program to rent horses and arena space. It gets no government funding.

"Without people like the organizers of Winn$tock, the financial community who came together in the battle of the bands, and the people who bid on the silent-auction prizes, our children would not be getting horseback-riding therapy -- it's as simple as that."

What I'm trying to tell you is when Kevin came calling, the man they used to call the Dogfather jumped at the chance to haul his last hotdog cart out of storage.

"I've come to realize that barbecuing a few hotdogs for 20 people can raise thousands of dollars for charity," said Hal.

"It's a nice way to meet new people and help a great cause."

Which is why this afternoon, in a back lane, Hal and I will be grilling harpoon-sized dogs for the lucky staff at Impact Security Group, Western Canada's largest privately owned security firm.

I asked Impact CEO and president Ron D'Errico what inspired him to fork out big bucks to have the Dogfather and his sidekick (call me the Ketchup Kid) dish up dogs.

"I decided to do this for my staff because I love 'em to death," Ron explained, adding that, on the night of the auction, he attempted to snag every prize up for grabs.

"We tried to buy everything," he said, laughing. "We got about 80 per cent of everything. We went crazy. We spent over $6,000 that night. We like to do our part for charity."

So there you have it, Winnipeg, and one thing is clear: When you combine hotdogs and a great cause, everyone's a wiener!

doug.speirs@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 21, 2012 A2