Soggy doggy lifeguards make a splash
WOULD you put your life in the hands of a dog at the swimming pool?
Jody Hastie and her neighbour Cath Brock, of Earnscleugh, dressed their dogs Ash and Billy as lifeguards for the ‘‘Soggy Doggy Splash’’ at the Molyneux Aquatic Centre in Alexandra yesterday afternoon.
The event let dogs swim in the centre’s outdoor pool for up to an hour, as a fundraiser for the local SPCA.
Ms Hastie and Mrs Brock are lifeguards at the centre and for this occasion, they gave their old uniforms to their dogs.
‘‘We thought it would be fun to bring them along as lifeguards . . . you’ve always got to swim between the flags and have your lifeguards, ’’ Ms Hastie said.
About 50 dogs attended the event.
Molyneux Aquatic Centre team leader Jen Ferris said it was a great opportunity for dogs to socialise.
This was the second time the event had been held. The first was during the Alexandra Thyme Festival in October last year.
SPCA wanted to repeat the event and the aquatic centre team were more than happy to oblige, Ms Ferris said.
It was a good time for the event, as the outdoor pool had been shut to the public since February and the pool would get winter maintenance soon.
She said the event was a laugh to watch.
‘‘It’s quite different from a lake or a river and they’re hilarious when you watch them on pool side . . . they actually have to be pushed in because they don’t want to get in because they realise it’s an actual swimming pool.’’
Ms Ferris said she would like to run the event at least once a year.
She had heard Dunedin’s SPCA ran a similar event in Mosgiel.
SPCA Central Otago coordinator and centre manager Shirlene Steel said the funds raised would go towards completing a new cat facility at the SPCA centre in Earnscleugh.
Ms Steel said SPCA raised $1500 from the first ‘‘Soggy Doggy Splash’’ and hoped to raise about the same yesterday.