The City of Clarksville Department of Parks and Recreation along with the Humane Society of Clarksville-Montgomery County and Total Canine Care held the 4th Annual Doggie Palooza at the Bark Park located in Heritage Park on Saturday.
The event kicked off with a demonstration by the Clarksville Police Department’s K9 teams.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUgCf29chnk[/youtube]
The Police K9 demonstration was followed by a Flyball demonstration.
In flyball two teams of four dogs each, race side-by-side over a 51 foot long course that includes several jump obstacles . Each dog must run in relay fashion down the jumps, trigger a Flyball box, releasing the ball, retrieve the ball, and return over the jumps. The next dog is released to run the course but can’t cross the start/finish line until the previous dog has returned over all 4 jumps and reached the start/finish line. The first team to have all 4 dogs finish the course without error wins the heat. Flyball races offer fast paced action with plenty of excitement for dogs, handlers, and especially spectators.
After the conclusion of the flyball demonstration owners and their pets competed against one another in a series contests that tested the agility and obedience of man’s best friend. Among the contests was a doggy version of musical chairs, sans chairs. Each dog had to quickly sit when the music stopped.
Then it was time for the “Best of Barks” Pageant. Judging the signature contest of Doggie Palooza was a trio of beauty queens including:
Miss Clarksville International Samantha Maselli: Samantha is a graduate of Clarksville High School and was a member of the 2009 Young Leadership Clarksville Class.
Mrs. Tennessee International Cydney Miller: Cydney works at the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System as the Assistant Human Resources Director.
Miss Mt. Juliet Macy Payne: Macy is a member of the Tennessee YMCA’s Youth in Government program. She works as a Hostess at Longhorn Steakhouse in Mount Juliet, Tennessee.
Each of the pets were judged on their appearance, and in the second round each had to perform one or more tricks.
While the judges were selecting the winning pets, Dr Benjamin Howard, DVM from the Animal Hospital answered audience questions relating to their pets. His Animal Hospital has been providing quality care for pets since 1963, and covers all aspect of health care and wellness for your pet. They are best known for their caring and friendly staff , and the outstanding service they provide. He covered questions from barking, licking, and one a young girl was asked the age old question of why dogs sometimes eat their feces, to which Dr Howard joked “If you can figure that out, I will go in on it 50/50 with you” .
The final activity of the afternoon was the attempt to break the world record for the largest dog obedience class ever. Sadly due to the heat many of the owner left before the attempt began, and that resulted in the record being left standing. Those that remained to the end were taught two tricks that they can use with their pets.
All in all the event was a success, and you should consider attending with your pet next year! We will break that record yet!
Editor’s Note: Information on Flyball from the North American Flyball Association‘s web site. Video Courtesy of Gary Baker of SannaBlue Media more Doggie Palooza videos available at: http://www.youtube.com/user/SannaBlue
