Today Gracie and I visited Corvallis. A bit dicey for us in our bright yellow Escape with Unversity of Oregon license plates. (I did check - there was no OSU home game, so I felt relatively safe in the Beaver Nation.)
The reason for our visit was the annual dog swim at the Corvallis Aquatic Center. This is the day the outdoor pools are open for dogs to swim. Gracie and I have been to the Western Oregon University dog swim each August, but this was our first venture to the Corvallis pool. And what a set up! There were two outdoor swim areas. For $5, Gracie swam for an hour. Her favorite activity was waiting for me to toss her bright orange float into the pool. Then she would leap from the side of the pool and swim at top speed to retrieve the float. Sometimes she would find the stairs, other times she would paddle to the side where I would help her out of the water.
Just like our visits to the dog park, I can tell this is something she really enjoys. And I enjoy watching her have so much fun.
There were probably 30 dogs or more in the pool area. The set up included a traditional lap pool as well as a pool you might see at water park. Most of the dogs were enjoying that pool because it was much more shallow and most dogs could easily touch bottom.
I watched one golden retriever attempt to retrieve his ball by standing tip-toe on the edge of the pool and then reaching one tentative paw into the water. He wanted that ball, but not bad enough to get all the way in.
What a great fund raiser for the pool and what a fun day for Gracie and for me.
