What a fun morning, as I met my mom and sister Linda at a special gathering. Sponsored by Main Street Pet Care, the K9 Kool Down was a dog wash fundraiser and community support event. The two fold goal was to show appreciation to area first responders, and to raise money to help provide safety equipment for police K9 units.
I have cats, who detest baths. But my mom brought her two large dogs, Scotty…a border collie, and Josie…a lab mix. While attendants filled plastic swimming pools with water, we checked out merchandise and emergency vehicles. Dr. Ben, from Main Street Pet Care stopped by and explained to us what the funds raised today will be used for.
The police dogs work hard and train rigorously. In hot weather, they can overheat, creating health concerns. And if they pant to cool down, they lose some of their effectiveness in sniffing out drugs, explosives or electronics. The fundraiser money will be used to purchase cooling vests for the dogs to keep them from getting too hot.
We learned too that Joplin has the only electronics sniffing dog in the area. He is able to locate a memory stick, for example, that has been hidden. This is useful when officers are working a pornography case.
Dog washing began at 10:00 and continued until 2:00. Scotty and Josie did great, stepping into kiddie pools where they were scrubbed and rinsed. Not only was this a wonderful idea for a fund raiser, it was a benefit to dog owners as well. It’s difficult for my mom to give her big boy and girl a bath. At the K9 Kool Down there were teams of washers who completed the task quickly and efficiently.
A crowd of pup owners gathered while we were there. In addition to the bigger pools for average sized dogs, there were small wading pools for tiny dogs. And the huge breeds got special arrention. A Joplin firetruck arrived and provided water via a hose, for a shower on the parking lot!
The K9 Kool Down was a great community event for a good cause. It was wonderful to see adults, kids and dogs interacting with firemen, police officers, deputies and EMTs. Food and drinks were available, lively music played on speakers, and canines with JPD and Jasper County gave demonstrations. Since I didn’t have a dog to scrub, I bought a T shirt, to contribute to the fundraiser.
Thank you Main Street Pet Care and the community for caring about first responders…even the four legged ones!
