News Archive

Dogs: People Out, Pooches in the Pool


Dive Right In: Doggy swim

Newsweek
Sept. 19, 2005 issue - The closure of public pools is one of summer's sad bookends—unless you're a dog. Before shuttering their pools for winter, several cities are now offering dog-only swims. Pooches can plunge off diving boards, fetch balls and slide down water shoots. Public pools in Washington, Michigan, Missouri and Florida have become doggie destinations in the past year or two; in Boulder, Colo., the number of participating dogs surged to 654 from 20 four years ago. And Sandy, Utah, which scheduled its first dog swim for last Saturday, even planned to shower pups with gift baskets.

Boulder pool officials say dog swims don't pose a health risk if people stay sidelined. In Fort Collins, Colo., a few owners who refused to heed the dog-only signs this year were given warnings. A pool in Seminole, Fla., which holds its dog swim in October, will allow people to swim with their dogs. "If dogs pee [in pools], so do a bunch of kids every day," says Jerry Span, Seminole's aquatics supervisor.

At Boulder's pool, not everyone was as social as the dogs. Andrea Bogue left after a woman said her bulldog, Milo, splashed. "She said my dog was being 'intrusive.' She was wet already," says Bogue. "I'm a peaceful Buddhist, but this is too challenging."

—Susan Moran

© 2005 Newsweek, Inc.

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