Remaining teams (in order of Dogleg 11 finish):

  • Bella and Douglas (Former Presidential Candidates/ARI Winners)
  • Quincy and Taffy (Golden Retriever Brother and Sister)
  • Hercules and Maxx (New York City Police Dogs)

The Amanxing Race 2: Going to the Dogs
DOGLEG 12: T Party

As the desert sun greets the Amanxing Racers at the Chihuahua, Mexico PET STOP, Amanxing Race host Phil Kiwi calls a meeting. "Congratulations, Bella and Douglas, Quincy and Taffy, and Hercules and Maxx. You have all made the finals of the Amanxing Race II - Going to the Dogs. Keo and June were the last pair to be eliminated. You will all complete the final two legs of the Race. And, as you might have expected, all three of you pairs are automatically guaranteed a spot in the Amanxing Race III - A Fine and Fancy Ramble, should you be so interested."

Koko was asked to help Phil present the next clue, but Koko is very upset over the elimination of her fellow primates. Koko is pitching a serious fit, pounding her chest and puffing herself up, and running around in an agitated way. "Koko mad! Koko love chimps! Fine animals chimps. Koko mad! Bad bad bad!"


"Koko mad!"

It gets so bad that Mexico's President Vicente Fox has to go over and try to calm Koko down with the Phil Kiwi pinata from yesterday. Koko picks up a stick and hits the pinata. This makes her feel a little better. "Koko love dogs and cats too."

With that outburst over, Phil returns to the contestants. "We want to give all three of you pairs a break for this dogleg of the Race. You may complete this dogleg at your leisure, but you must finish all the tasks. You will leave Chihuahua in the order in which you arrived, but all three pairs will leave the next Pet Stop at the same time. Judge your own level of tiredness and preparedness for the final leg."

"And now, Amanxing Racers, it's time for you to visit a North American seaside capital known for historic buildings, baseball, revolutions, a very famous politician who's been in power since the sixties, a Red who smokes cigars, and a small friendly companion dog breed. Are you ready?" With that, he hands Bella and Douglas their clue: Fly to Boston, Massachusetts, take the T to the Kennedy Library and look for the Bouvier.

The three pairs all leave within fifteen minutes of each other, and decide not only to travel together today, but to form the first alliance of The Amanxing Race III. Their flight will connect through Mexico City. At the airport, the retrievers pick up the cats and carry them through the airport to save time, Bella yowling the whole way. She sleeps all the way into Logan Airport.

Douglas, whose owner knows a little about Boston, already knows to take the Blue Line from Logan to State, change to the Orange Line and get off at Downtown Crossing, where they will pick up the Red Line for the JFK/U-Mass T stop. Quincy is quite excited to see all the Red Line stops with his name on them (North Quincy, Quincy Center, Quincy Adams) and wants to go there. He's also surprised at the way people are pronouncing his name.



In Boston, the Amanxing Racers ride the T

The six Racers get off at the stop for the Kennedy Library and pause a minute to admire this interesting building. Bella and Taffy want to stop at the Jackie O exhibit, but the police dogs get them to press on. Herc begins barking for his pals to get outside. There, they notice a Bouvier des Flandres sitting in JFK's old sailboat. He's waiting with Caroline Bouvier Kennedy, who pets each Racer, especially Taffy.


Caroline Bouvier Kennedy and a Bouvier des Flandres greet the Racers near JFK's sailboat

Caroline tells the Racers that they're about to go on a Boston scavenger hunt. Since Boston is so famous for its literary heritage, the clues will be written in rhyme. With that, the Racers read:

"Maxx is a sergeant with the NYPD Blue,
In Boston there's a Sargent waiting for you.
Don't go to the Gardner, don't go to the Fogg,
To find the painting named for our other police dog."

They ask a friendly museum guard for directions to the Museum of Fine Arts. Rather than backtracking on the T, he puts the six in a cab. They arrive at the Museum and, after admiring Paul Revere's teapot and the Monet room, find their next clue in front of John Singer Sargent's painting of "Hercules and the Hydra."


Herc spots the next clue by the Sargent painting

Their next clue is:

"Are you getting hungry? Then pick up the pace, sir,
Find the marketplace named for an Amanxing Racer.
Some lobster, some taffy, or pizza in a pan,
Get your next clue from the Steve's Ice Cream Man."

Arf arf, barks Quincy, as he knows they're going to Quincy Market. The group gets back on the T at Museum and rides the Green Line, getting off at Government Center and running down the steps toward the Sam Adams statue in front of Faneuil Hall. And there's Quincy Market! The tourists and locals are surprised to see the pets in the marketplace.


Bella at Quincy Market

Bella and Douglas enjoy some lobster, Quincy and Taffy share a pizza, and Maxx and Herc each get a chicken parmesan sub. Douglas is the first to spot Steve's Ice Cream on the east end, and gets a marshmallow mix-in plus the next clue:

"Don't go all the way out to Douglas, Mass,
Under the Big Dig is where you should pass.
Go to a restaurant that's in the North End,
The one named for an Amanxing Race friend."


Douglas feasts on some lobster

Nobody is in any big hurry, because they don't have to be, so they all get some more yummy food and Taffy does some shopping. Bella goes to the Irish shop looking for a "Kiss Me I'm Manx" shirt. When the dogs have eaten their fill, the shepherds lead them down the Freedom Trail and under the Big Dig.

Wednesday is Amanxing Racers day in the North End of Boston, and almost immediately they spot Bella Vista Ristorante on Hanover Street, where they get their final clue:

"One if by land, and two if by sea,
Here's the Pet Stop, as you will see.
Go to the church where Paul started his ride,
A black and white gentleman's waiting inside."

They follow the red line to Old North Church, to find Senator Ted Kennedy with a black-and-white Boston Terrier. "Welcome to Boston, Amanxing Racers! Rest up now, because tomorrow is the finish!"


Senator Ted Kennedy and friend greet the Racers

Next, on the final Dogleg of the Amanxing Race: Hooray for the Amanxing Race, as our final three pairs remember their compatriots and Come-Home to the finish line. And the Amanxing Race II goes to....?

DOGLEGS: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Written by Becky Banfield

The Amanxing Race was inspired by CBS Television's The Amazing Race.

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