Melissa's Photos: Bark In The Park

Yesterday my mom and I took our pups and met up with my aunt Cathy, my cousin Chris, and their friend Carrie, and their dogs, then went to Bark in the Park in Charlotte, NC. It was a beautiful day, though very hot...but it was a lot of fun to get together, and to take the pups somewhere fun!

There were vendors galore selling everything from dog & gift items, food & drinks to seemless guttering and air conditioning systems. (I guess in this economy, you've got to go where the people are, whether it's got anything to do with your product or not.) Rescue groups for many different breeds were on hand to educate people about their breed of choice and to try to find good homes for some of their rescues. There were also agility trials and all kinds of different contests...largest dog, smallest dog, best-dressed, a dog/human look alike contest, etc. I entered Jazzie in the Smallest Dog competition, but even though she's tiny, she wasn't the tiniest...the top ribbon for that one went to a chihuahua that weighed a little over a pound.

The Mecklenburg County Animal Control department had a booth set up where they were doing microchipping, so all the girls got microchips yesterday. For anyone who doesn't know what that means, they basically insert a small microchip (smaller than a grain of rice) underneath the skin between the shoulder-blades, and if your dog is ever lost or stolen and ends up at an animal shelter, rescue group, or veterinarian, the attendants can scan the microchip and it provides information on contacting you. Sort of like a name tag that can't fall off or be removed. One of the best things is that in a case of a natural disaster, if you and your pet get separated they can find a way to get you back together again. Laid-back Miss Jazzie didn't even flinch when they did hers, and Mom's pup Daisy whined once then stuck her tongue out and wagged her tail. Tinker the Drama Queen screamed and tried to turn herself into a pretzel, and they hadn't even picked up the syringe with the microchip yet...all they had done was pet her at that point! Two seconds after they were done, you'd have never known they even touched her. She is such a silly girl...

Another fun part was that many of the vendors were handing out freebies...the girls got cool water bowls and tons of treats, and us humans got magnets, keyrings, and other such stuff. Tinker & Jazzie got a big kick out of their first doggie-ice-cream...and they didn't even make a mess!

Tinker & Jazzie riding in style in their doggie stroller...I am so glad we had this to use, because toting the two of them around for 3 hours would have been a handfull!!