Saturday, August 11, 2007

Dog Days of Summer



Whew! It's been hot lately but I seem to have adjusted to it when riding. Although I haven't done a lot of it this week I did get out a couple of times including a preride today of the next course up in the MMBA series. But earlier today was literally a time for the dogs.

Our town of Lake Orion has a dog parade every year and we decided to take one of ours and participate. They had tents set up in the park from various vendors and organizations. Many of the dogs wore costumes and they were going to award prizes for various categories including best costume, cutest dog, etc. You could also vote for this year's "Dog Mayor" and several owners carried signs and distributed leaflets urging you to vote for their dog.

Before the parade started there was a blessing of the dogs and then we all headed out to walk through the main streets of town, led by an old fire engine and with police escorts.

We walked a short route through the downtown area and back to the park. I imagine we were a sight for traffic that had to wait for about 150 dogs and their owners to cross before they could proceed through town.

Our big black lab did well. He was a little excited at first but then settled down and just walked with the rest of the group. He didn't get too distracted by all the other dogs and seemed to enjoy the walk. Back at the park they had a samll plastic wading pool filled with water for the dogs to drink out of. A number of dogs decided they would rather wade in it than drink from it.
Getting our dog calmed down and ready to go
The cars had to wait for us to cross
One of the dog "Judges" and an owner with doggy propaganda on his back
Mickey Mouse?

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