Dogs Just Want To Have Fun

Summer might be almost over, but dogs still want to have fun. So they're headed to the pool for a Soggy Doggy Pool Party.

The name alone is enough to make puppy lovers bare their teeth -- and then there's the mental image of dogs of all shapes and sizes cavorting in a pool filled with toys. The cause, however, is a serious one. The event, now in its fourth year, is a fundraiser for the Prairie Grove Pound, a no-kill shelter that takes in animals abandoned, surrendered or lost in Prairie Grove.

"It's a small town," says Sharon Glover, a member of the shelter's Board of Directors. "But sadly, it's a big dumping ground."

By way of example, Glover says last month, the shelter took in six "lovely dogs, seemingly well cared for."

"I would have thought somebody in town would know these dogs, but no one did," she says. "So they came from other places. We found them homes, which was wonderful, but it breaks my heart to know someone surely must have been looking for these dogs."

More heartbreaking, she admits, are the animals who come to the shelter after being actively abused or neglected. Two of those dogs have become part of her family. Maddie, a labradoodle, was purchased by a couple from a puppy mill in Oklahoma. She was so withdrawn, she didn't move and didn't eat, and the couple were "petrified she was just going to die." When Glover took her home, she hid between a kitchen cabinet and the stove for more than two months -- with her head tucked behind the stove. She had to be extracted and carried outside to use the bathroom.

Two years later, Glover says, she's finally come out of her shell -- although she is still afraid of other people.

Charity, a shar pei mix, was found "looking like a pencil" with "huge patches of hair missing."

"She is still coming around, although she has made huge strides," Glover says. "And she and Maddie have bonded and are the Bobbsey twins."

Glover says some dogs can't be saved; they're too ill. But even they get foster homes so they die in comfort and with dignity.

Because the shelter is funded by the Friends of the Prairie Grove Pound, the $20,000 to $30,000 a year it costs in care for the animals has to be raised by the organization. And that's where the Soggy Doggy Pool Party comes in. For the price of admission, dogs who have up-to-date vaccinations get to play for four hours Saturday (or Sunday in case of rain) at the city pool. The event is a dogs-only swim, which happens right before the pool closes for the season.

"I have been amazed every year how well all these different dogs get on," Glover says. "They see the water, they see the toys, and they just go wild." There are photo opportunities for human parents, vendors and a concession stand. But "people are staff for this particular thing," she says. "It's just a huge party for dogs."

NAN What's Up on 08/19/2016