The Dog Days of Summer

I know I promised a whole list of upcoming posts, but I had to write a short one about my day.

My Labor Day was uneventfully planned.  I didn't have a whole schedule of things to do, just a few ideas.  A little work, a little cleaning, a little laundry, a little running.  You know, standard "off day" things.

But there was one thing on my plan for today that I was really, really looking forward to - Dog Dayz Dog Swim at the Monon Center in Carmel.  Once a year (the last day that the pool is open for the season), the Monon Center opens the outdoor aquatic center to DOGS.  That's right - the whole pool becomes a dog's dream.  I have heard about it for the past few years, but have never been able to go.

But this year - Bo, Tucker, and I were all suiting up and checking this event out.

When I arrived, I was shocked!  I was about 15 minutes early and there were already at least 100 dogs waiting to get in.  The swim party was definitely more popular than I realized!  Luckily, the planner in me has pre-registered us.  So we avoided the lines and got right in. 

From there on out, it was CRAZY.  This was truly Bo's heaven.  He loves water, and he had never had an opportunity to try anything deeper than a kiddie pool.  He was in and out, jumping over slides and running into the deep water after tennis balls.  He was as happy as I have ever seen him!

Tucker was more hesitant.  He is not a fan of the kiddie pool, so I had no way to figure out what he would think of this.  He was okay up to his ankles, but he was more into playing with the other dogs and meeting all the people that were there!  He ended up nearly as wet, just never that deep into the water.

This sounds weird, but the event was a good exercise for me.  I took both dogs by myself, and was concerned that I wouldn't be able to watch them both, take care of them, get them on and off-leash (or what they would do once they were off-leash!).  But the whole experience was great!  They did run around, and I couldn't always see them.  But they always came when I called, and usually without me needing to.  They knew where I was, and would run back and check on me as needed.  I got over my fear of "losing" them pretty quickly, and it was great to do something so fun with them.  I ended up basically as wet as them, snapping pictures and running after them as much as possible!  You can see all the pictures I took right here:

We stayed about 90 minutes - it was PACKED the whole time.  Don't believe me - check out this video.  Ignore me - I was constantly asking Bo and Tucker to smile for the video!  But it does a great job of showcasing the experience.

Needless to say - it was probably one of the best things I have ever done with them, and I already cannot wait to do it again next year.  And the exhaustion that they are experiencing right now is definitely a great secondary benefit!

We're a pretty cute family - even with Tucker trying to eat his leash!