Kristy
08-17-2005, 07:45 AM
The dogs were barking in the park for the Coulee Region Humane Society
By JOAN KENT | La Crosse Tribune
Sunday, August 14, 2005
.
Ian is just a natural kisser. Not too dainty. Not slobbery. But definitely into it.
So when the boxer, owned by Sahra Jola of La Crosse, gave Bark in the Park volunteer Bridgette Magno a big, enthusiastic smacker, he won the kiss contest paws down.
The kissers in the contest, part of the preliminaries before the fourth annual bark, had a variety of techniques. Bull mastiff Tasha, who looked like she might be a slobberer, was surprisingly gentle. But a black Labrador retriever was so enthusiastic, he knocked Magno over.
She expected as much. Last year, a German Shepherd puppy would not stop kissing, she recalled. "It was like being smothered with a big wet sponge."
Hundreds of dogs from throughout the Coulee Region gathered in Riverside Park for the Coulee Region Humane Society's annual fundraising event, which culminates with the howling group bark.
This year, at about 11:30 a.m., they managed 112.2 decibels, which broke the 110 mark they set for the Guinness Book of World Records in 2003.
The contests before the bark bring out the dogs' personalities and, in some cases, show, as one owner said, "just how much we'll put our dogs through."
The award for most dissimilar dogs in a household went to Dakota, a 140-pound Great Dane, and 9-month-old German shepherd puppy Mika, both owned by Robert and Sarah Taylor of Sparta, Wis. Dakota is slightly jealous of the new addition, said Sarah Taylor. "He's been the only dog for awhile, but now he has to share. But he tolerates it when Mika crawls up on his back."
Karissa Solberg of Rockland, Wis., won several blue ribbons, including best at tricks, with her Lab/German shepherd mix Luke. A graduate of the humane society's obedience classes, Luke could lay, roll over and fetch. And fetch and fetch and fetch.
"He is a very smart dog. He was ready to learn," Solberg said of Luke, who she got at the humane society last year. "He goes to work with me ... and to the stables where I keep my horses. He loves the horses. He grazes right with them and goes along on the trail. He thinks they're big dogs, or that he's a small horse."
Dani Johnson, 10, easily won the ribbon for looking most like her dog, a Maltese and poodle mix named Cocoa. Both wore pink T-shirts and, by putting her blondish hair up in a high ponytail, Johnson mimicked Cocoa's coiffure.
Owners showed off their imaginations, and their dogs' patience in some cases, in a contest for the best costumed dog. One wore a hula skirt, another was in a diaper and baby bonnet, one sported what looked like yards of tulle.
The owners of Zuri, a St. Bernard puppy who already weighs 50 pounds, struggled valiantly to dress him like a ballerina. He didn't seem to like it much.
"My husband thought it up," said Deb Congdon of Galesville, Wis. "It's a play on the fact that St. Bernards are clumsy."
http://www.lacrossetribune.com/articles/2005/08/14/news/00lead.txt
By JOAN KENT | La Crosse Tribune
Sunday, August 14, 2005
.
Ian is just a natural kisser. Not too dainty. Not slobbery. But definitely into it.
So when the boxer, owned by Sahra Jola of La Crosse, gave Bark in the Park volunteer Bridgette Magno a big, enthusiastic smacker, he won the kiss contest paws down.
The kissers in the contest, part of the preliminaries before the fourth annual bark, had a variety of techniques. Bull mastiff Tasha, who looked like she might be a slobberer, was surprisingly gentle. But a black Labrador retriever was so enthusiastic, he knocked Magno over.
She expected as much. Last year, a German Shepherd puppy would not stop kissing, she recalled. "It was like being smothered with a big wet sponge."
Hundreds of dogs from throughout the Coulee Region gathered in Riverside Park for the Coulee Region Humane Society's annual fundraising event, which culminates with the howling group bark.
This year, at about 11:30 a.m., they managed 112.2 decibels, which broke the 110 mark they set for the Guinness Book of World Records in 2003.
The contests before the bark bring out the dogs' personalities and, in some cases, show, as one owner said, "just how much we'll put our dogs through."
The award for most dissimilar dogs in a household went to Dakota, a 140-pound Great Dane, and 9-month-old German shepherd puppy Mika, both owned by Robert and Sarah Taylor of Sparta, Wis. Dakota is slightly jealous of the new addition, said Sarah Taylor. "He's been the only dog for awhile, but now he has to share. But he tolerates it when Mika crawls up on his back."
Karissa Solberg of Rockland, Wis., won several blue ribbons, including best at tricks, with her Lab/German shepherd mix Luke. A graduate of the humane society's obedience classes, Luke could lay, roll over and fetch. And fetch and fetch and fetch.
"He is a very smart dog. He was ready to learn," Solberg said of Luke, who she got at the humane society last year. "He goes to work with me ... and to the stables where I keep my horses. He loves the horses. He grazes right with them and goes along on the trail. He thinks they're big dogs, or that he's a small horse."
Dani Johnson, 10, easily won the ribbon for looking most like her dog, a Maltese and poodle mix named Cocoa. Both wore pink T-shirts and, by putting her blondish hair up in a high ponytail, Johnson mimicked Cocoa's coiffure.
Owners showed off their imaginations, and their dogs' patience in some cases, in a contest for the best costumed dog. One wore a hula skirt, another was in a diaper and baby bonnet, one sported what looked like yards of tulle.
The owners of Zuri, a St. Bernard puppy who already weighs 50 pounds, struggled valiantly to dress him like a ballerina. He didn't seem to like it much.
"My husband thought it up," said Deb Congdon of Galesville, Wis. "It's a play on the fact that St. Bernards are clumsy."
http://www.lacrossetribune.com/articles/2005/08/14/news/00lead.txt