Dog Swim Registration Now Open!
By Sharyn Fitzgerald, Arlington Village Dog Swim Committee
We can’t wait to see you and your pups on September 14th from 5:30-7:30 for another great doggie day at the pool!
Registration is now open for the Jim Walton Memorial Dog Swim at Arlington Village. Registration forms can be downloaded from the Arlington Village website (www.arlingtonvillage.com
Please also join us at 5:20 for a short dedication by State Senator Patsy Ticer in memory of our former neighbor LTC Jim Walton, for whom the Dog Swim is named. Jim, active in past dog swim planning, lost his life earlier this summer while serving in Afghanistan.
We encourage spectators to attend the Swim! Please note that there will be a minimum donation of $1 per person for spectators. Also, if you will be bringing children, we will ask that you sign a waiver upon entry to the pool area.
A new feature at this year’s swim is that we’ll have dog treats for sale! The treats we're making include fruit (apple and banana), meat (chicken and beef), and peanut-butter flavored biscuits. They're all home-made with all natural dog- (and cat and human)-safe ingredients. Look out for Buster's Peanut Butter Bones, Willow's Apple Drops, and Molly's Beef Bites. Treats will be offered for a suggested donation of $1.
5 comments:
I have a weird question, how does this dog swim work? Is it just a free for all? What about if the dogs need to go to the bathroom? How did last year's function? Was anyone there that could paint a picture for me? Thank you in advance.
I'm on the planning committee and I attended last year, so I can answer some of your questions.
The dog swim is a free-for-all in the sense that the dogs are off leash. As for the number of dogs, Arlington County limits the number to 50 in the pool area at any given time. This might sound like a lot, but it is actually quite manageable. I think that 40 dogs attended last year, attendance spread out over two hours, and it was fine. The pool is big, so it didn't seem crowded at all. People and their dogs were spread around the pool, but were mostly near the stairs at either end.
The committee actually has designated "poop scoopers" on duty just in case any dogs use the bathroom. Last year, I think there might have been one "scoop," or maybe there were none at all. At any rate, it was not a problem. As a dog owner, I say with some degree of confidence that most dogs probably get their business taken care of on the way to the pool!
It was a lot of fun last year. Lots of dogs, my dog included, seemed to enjoy just running around on the pool deck rather than swimming.
obviously anonymous #1 isn't a dog owner and doesn't understand the poop/swimming thing. Just not an issue. But then again, that's why it takes place before the pool is drained.
Hey, has anyone else had an issue finding the advance sign up for this event? I went to the official Arl Village website and can't find it.
They really need to update the website!!
It was there all last week, and I'm not sure why it's gone now. I have just sent an e-mail to the office to have them re-post the link. Hopefully it won't take too long--check again on Monday afternoon.
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