Dog park opens
As part of the 71st annual Forest Hills Community Day, the new Forest Hills Dog Park will have its official dedication and ribbon cutting on Tuesday, sponsored by the Civic Association.
The dog park, in the municipality’s main park off Ardmore Boulevard, has been unofficially open since May, but at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday it will be official. A donor wall with the names of people who contributed money be unveiled.
Dog owners can register at 8:30 a.m. for a one-mile Fun Run/Dog Walk through the streets of Forest Hills. Registration for the Ed Bunyan Memorial Community Day Biathlon (a 200-meter swim in the pool and a 2½-mile run) is at 7:45 a.m. at the swimming pool. Registration is $5 and includes a T-shirt.
Slobberfest
Admission is free, and friendly dogs are welcome as long as they are up to date on shots and leashed at all times. There will be raffles to raise money to rescue more dogs.
Food and drink will be sold, but guests are advised to bring their own chairs.
Slobberfest “is also a furry family reunion where many of the bassets and their families come back to tell and show us how well their wonderful, perfect, most beautiful, smartest and best basset ever is doing,” according to a news release.
Go to www.DroopyBassetRescue.com for more information and to see dogs available for adoption.
Cat behavior expert
Got a cat with common feline behavior issues and concerns? Cat expert and best-selling author Pam Johnson-Bennet will be at Animal Friends from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. next Saturday with help and advice. The shelter is in Ohio Township, 562 Camp Horne Road, Pittsburgh 15237.
Her latest book is “CatWise,” and it will be available for sale and for signing. Go to www.thinkingoutsidethecage.org to register or call 412-847-7000.
Hero dog nominations
the AKC Humane Fund Awards for Canine Excellence. Nominations are open through July 31.
We had a local ACE winner in 2014. Boomer, a 30-pound Australian shepherd, bit and fought off a black bear that was biting and clawing Connie Dilts of North Mahoning, Indiana County.
Boomer — full name Gearhart Sound of Thunder — herds dairy cows and hogs at the Green Lawn Farms operated by Bob Dilts and his family.
The brave little dog won in the Exemplary Companion category. The other categories are Uniformed Service K9, Search and Rescue, Therapy and Service, for dogs that “enrich the lives of physically or mentally disabled owners.”
The five winners, like Boomer, get an engraved sterling silver medallion, an all-expenses paid trip to Orlando and $1,000 to be donated to the charity of their choice.
Nominated dogs do not have to be purebred.
Entry details are at: https://docs.google.com/a/ post-gazette.com/forms/d/ e/1FAIpQLSdkJNZuJRtOYcO3ZHQUuaUj_ to get the entry form, and the photo should be sent to communications@akc.org.