The Fastest Dog In The USA

December 26, 2020

Some dogs are fluffier than others, some are cuter than others and some are scarier than others, but none is faster than the USA national champion, Phelan.

Phelan, which means ‘wolf’ in Irish, is a rescue dog of mixed breed from Crownsville, Maryland. Owing to his ancestry, Phelan’s colouring is a mixed hue of cream, grey and brown. He is an exact picture of his lineage, which includes greyhound, borzoi, and Scottish deerhound. 

His greyhound roots and his leggy deerhound characteristics definitely work in his favour for speed and agility. Even his wiry coat, which is surely more aerodynamic than a shaggy coat, makes him look speedy! He beat out 130 other dogs in the competition, including pure-bred greyhounds who are known for reaching speeds of 43 miles per hour. 

The finals of the AKC Fast CAT (coursing ability trial) Invitational is a straight 100-yard dash with a 100-yard warm-up around the track before the dogs let rip. The dogs take turns in racing and their performance is based on the best out of 3 races. Phelan clocked a time of 6.346 seconds, which is the same as running 32.3 miles per hour. To put that into perspective, the fastest man in the world has a recorded speed of 28 miles per hour.

The race is held every year in December and championships run all year round. The best of the best are chosen to compete in the final, which was held at the Orlando Convention Center this year.

The race is split into the overall Fastest Dog USA championship and the Speed of the Breed, for those swift dachshunds whose only fighting chance is racing against their own kind! The champion this year for Speed of the Breed is a grey mini-poo called Elliot from Gray Court, South Carolina. 

While racing dogs is a fun past-time for the AKC champions, professional dog (greyhound) racing is not a sport that animal lovers would appreciate. Considered cruel and unnecessary, the dogs are retired at a very young age and many are euthanized. It’s a relief to know that greyhound racing is slowly being phased out all around the world.

As far as Phelan is concerned, he’s content with chasing squirrels on his daily walks and cuddling up with his new-found puppy parents, and has no plans of continuing his racing career. He’ll always be a champion in our eyes.