Doggie Splash Days!

Milt and I are regulars at Michaels primarily because I always have 40% off coupons, and, more importantly, dogs are allowed inside.  Well, one cashier, Kim, is just wild about my Milton, and she always coos over him and ushers us through to her line.  During one of our many conversations, Kim told me about Doggie Splash Days in the Dallas-area.  What exactly is a Doggie Splash Day?  Many towns will close their pools at the end of the summer season, and when they do, they allocate one final day for the dogs to get wet and wild.  When I heard about this opportunity to swim alongside Milton the Goldendoodle in a pool with about 50 other dogs, I was pretty darn excited.  This might not sound like a good time to the majority of people out there, but to me, this is the perfect way to spend the dog days of summer.

Saturday morning Milt and I hopped in the car to drive over to the neighboring town of Mesquite that was sponsoring such an event.  The premise is simple -- $5/person and dog, $2 for each additional person, and the dog must be wearing an updated rabies tag.  As we pulled into the event, where there was not only a pool but a legitimate mini-water park, the place was absolutely hopping.  Milt is still a poor walker, and both of my wrists were sore that afternoon.  After we waited patiently (actually not too patiently) while I signed us in and paid, I unleashed our goldendoodle, and he careened off into a magical doggie wonderland.

Pretty cute!

The pool has gone to the dogs!

Quite literally.

Milt got off to a running start!

One of the many fun contests

A couple of the judges

This Doggie Splash Day did offer a few contests -- Dog Paddle Race, Diving Competition, and Best Swimsuit.  Milt and I ran over (I actually nabbed Milt and dragged him over.) to enter him for the paddle, but that was actually a major flop.  You see, I went to the event alone because Jeff was working, so it was a bit hard to coordinate holding the squirming Milton while lugging my backpack with keys, wallet, etc. and trying not to fall on the slippery pavement.  For this race, most owners hopped right in the water to coax their dog to swim the length of the pool, but I, instead, just walked to the other end and called Milt's name.  My poor boy was too scared to jump in, and he just dodged the volunteers and skirted around the

Safety first, of course!

poolside to reach me.  I suppose he  accomplished the ultimate goal, but he just didn't swim!

That's why we missed out on one of these beauties!

Pretty fancy

Well, regardless, the main point of the day was to swim, not compete, and that is just what Milt did an awful lot of, sometimes alongside of me!

Always with that darn tennis ball!

Tables were placed to aid getting in and out of the deep end

We did switch up the tennis ball a little bit though.

Sometimes Milt Dog even shared.

Just a little bit...

We picked up some swag to bring home too!

Exciting...!

I wish I had better photos from this event, but I brought my point-and-shoot camera rather than the SLR due to the water and dog activity!  I especially felt like a parent there because half the time I did not even know where Milton was, and the other half he was blatantly ignoring me.  Next summer, I am keying all the Doggie Splash Days into our calendar early on because they are way too much fun for not only Milt the Goldendoodle but Jeff and me too!