Last Saturday, Sept. 29, the Holmes Aquatic Center invited local pet-owners to bring their dogs to their pool for an end of summer swimming excursion. This event happens yearly, just before the pool shuts down for the winter season.
The idea for a dog swim day was first proposed by a dog-loving Holmes Aquatic Center coordinator who wanted to provide an opportunity for the city’s dogs to have a fun swim day with their owners.
“It was our aquatics coordinator that came up with the idea for the splash day,” Assistant Director of the Park Cities Parks and Recreation Department Caroline Seward said “He wanted to provide an opportunity for the dogs in University Park to have a day at the pool, as it’s also a popular thing at pools around the country, and he was excited to bring it to University Park.”
In the event, the pool opens up its two pools and splash pad for the dogs, allowing them to interact with other dogs in a new setting. Due to the popularity of the event, the pool’s administration has had to set an attendance cap of 100 dogs, therefore it is attended on a first come first serve basis. Dogs must also be pre registered in order to verify that they are up to date on all vaccinations.
Other than the pre-registration requirements, the event is very unstructured, and designed to be fun for their dogs and their owners.
“It’s really kind of an open swim so people can come whenever and they don’t have to stay the whole time so the dogs can have free swim time activities,” Seward said.
University Park resident Catherine Sonnier has said that this attendance cap has contributed to a greater level of organization of the event.
“They’ve made improvements each year,” Sonnier said. “They ran out of dog treats in the first ten minutes the first year. This year there were lots more dogs and that didn’t happen. I think they might have a sponsor now, the Lucky Dog Barkery.”
Alongside the pool experience, there are further events for dogs inside the Splash day, such as a swimsuit contest, a swimming competition, and a ball retrieving contest in the large pool. The winners of these events are awarded with treats that are served on a treat counter, providing a unique experience for the dogs.
“My dogs loved it,” University Park resident Stephanie McCurry-Watters said. “They were very tired and they took a big nap when we all got home.”
These dogs are allowed anywhere around the pools, including the diving boards and the deep end. Furthermore, there is no separation for dogs of differing breeds or sizes, allowing for dogs which may usually be separated in dog parks to play with each other.
“We have had dogs jump off the high diving board before, but most are timid and go off the low diving board,” Seward said.
This year, the 100 places permitted in the Splash day were highly sought after by local owners, as the openings were taken very fast by residents. These spots were fully filled two weeks before the actual event.
“We officially hit capacity over the weekend so we have 100 dogs registered for the splash day,” Seward said.
The limit is instituted for the safety of pet owners and their beloved pets, as an amount larger could result in a struggle to keep every dog properly supervised. Additionally, there is a ten dollar fee to sign up for the event.
However, those who attend this yearly event say that the fee is well worth it, and that both them and their dogs have enjoyed it very much.
“We had a really great time. We laughed practically the whole time watching our dogs have fun and run around,” McCurry-Watters said, “I think it’s a really sweet event for all ages, all types of breeds, and types of dogs. I think it was a great way to end the summer for us and the dogs.”
