Sit, stay cool: Dog Days breeds summer safety
Summer in the Valley is taxing for all of us, but sometimes we don’t realize how hard it is on our pets.
The appropriately named Dog Days of Summer event, returning for its fourth year, provides an early-morning outing for owners and their pets to enjoy a social outdoor activity, which isn’t always easy to come by in the scorching weather. It also serves as a great resource for how to make sure your pet is safe during the summer months. The event benefits the Sun Valley Animal Shelter.
“There wasn’t really any events in downtown Glendale during the month of August, mainly because it’s so hot,” said organizer Linda MoranWhittley, who owns Papa Ed’s Ice Cream in Glendale. “My ice-cream shop has a beautiful outdoor patio, which is pet-friendly. We’ve always sold frozen treats for dogs, and I love animals, so the first year we decided to have a little parade with the dogs and invite them to my patio.”
More than 65 dogs and their owners showed up for the first event, squeezing into the garden area. The next year, Moran-Whittley moved the event to Murphy Park and changed the event time to the morning, when the weather is more bearable. Last year, 600 people attended, and since many owners had multiple dogs, MoranWhittley estimated there were 1,500 pets at the event.
This year’s event focuses on service animals and their importance not only to the individuals they serve, but to the community. Lynette Jelinek, community-services division manager for the Glendale Fire Department, will be there with Topaz, the dog from the department’s Crisis Response Team.
“Topaz is a yellow lab who is a working dog that people actually get to pet,” Jelinek said. “Topaz helps families, victims and witnesses after all the ugly stuff, such as a homicide, car accident or suicide. Topaz is a distraction to help victims calm down.”
Topaz has attended the event before and is popular with the community. He’ll have his own donation jar, with funds helping the crisis-response program, which not only feeds him and provides medical care, but also stocks food and clothing for emergencies.
New this year is an appearance from Glendale-based Soldier’s Best Friend, an organization that places therapeutic companion dogs with veterans suffering from PTSD or traumatic brain injuries.
“This event gives us the opportunity to showcase animals and the great gifts that they have,” said Taylor O’Shea, fund-raising and events coordinator.
All of the organization’s dogs come from shelters. First they go to foster homes to test their behavior, then they are paired with a veteran. After nine months of training, they take a test. Those that pass become certified and come back after two years to get re-certified.
“When people typically think of service dogs, they think of golden retrievers or labs,” O’Shea said. “Since we are pulling out of shelters, nine out of 10 dogs are mixed breeds. We have trained German shepherds, Great Danes, pit bulls and Chihuahuas. It really depends on the temperament of the dog and if they are able to stay calm in everyday situations.”
The organization has graduated 35 dogs. There are 39 in training and 260 veteran applications pending.
The event will also feature service dogs from the American Red Cross, Luke Air Force Base, Banner Health and