Furry friends of the Palouse took over the pools on Sunday as the Humane Society of the Palouse (HSOP), along with the Moscow Parks and Recreation Department hosted the seventh-annual Howling at Hamilton event.
Howling at Hamilton is a fundraising event that invites well-behaved dogs to swim and play at the Hamilton-Lowe Aquatics Center.
According to Lori Freeman, director of HSOP, an average of 200 dogs attend the event each year. The cost is $10 per dog and only one dog per adult is allowed. With fees and donations, as well as the sale of toys, HSOP brings in about $3,000 from the event each year.
All proceeds go directly to HSOP for veterinary care, food and supplies for the shelter animals, Freeman said. She said since HSOP is a no-kill shelter, fundraisers are a big part of bringing in money for the care of the animals.
HSOP was established in 1978 as the first no-kill shelter in Idaho. It was originally built to house eight or nine cats, according to Freeman, but now they house around 60. They also currently have seven dogs and a rabbit. On average, Freeman said HSOP adopts out 350 cats and 150 dogs each year.
The Board of Directors for the Humane Society manages the yearly event, taking money at the gate and selling dog toys. The Aquatics Center supplies lifeguards, and shuts down all pumps during the event so drains do not get clogged with dog hair. After the event, the center drains, cleans and winterizes the pools for the year.
Along with the dogs being free to run, play and swim in the pools with other dogs, there was a jumping contest held at 5 p.m. The contest was split up into categories by canine size to make it fair for smaller dogs. According to Freeman, larger dogs usually take part in the jumping contest.
According to HSOP board member Emily Spellman, a feature in Bark Magazine inspired the annual event. She said the board decided to try it about seven years ago, and it quickly gained popularity throughout the community of dog owners.
“Even dogs that don’t like the water have fun,” Spellman said.
She has two dogs she adopted from the shelter that attended the event this year. Her older dog, Xena, is 14 years old and has attended the event every year since its inception. For her new puppy, Cubby, this was his first time attending.
In past years, volunteers have taken shelter dogs to the event, but Freeman said there were no “good candidates” this year — mainly due to a small number of dogs in the shelter at this time.
Freeman said there has never been any fighting among the dogs, and they have never had to ask a dog to leave. She said it is very surprising to have that many dogs in a confined space without having any issues.
“All the owners that come are really responsible and really cognizant of what their dogs are doing,” Freeman said.
Mary Malone can be reached at [email protected]