1st annual dirty dog wash soaks up $180 for shelter
By
Brandi Baldwin |
IDS
POSTED AT
12:00 AM ON Oct. 8, 2007
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Finnigan attempted to escape, fighting to walk forward while hands gripped his sides, struggling to hold him
in place.
As water hit his white curly fur, he did the only thing natural to him and shook water all over the Revitalizing Animal Well-Being volunteers that were washing him.
Finnigan, a standard poodle owned by graduate student Amelia Tomlinson, had a bath Sunday at the Dirty, Dirty Dog Wash in an effort by the student organization, Revitalizing Animal Well-Being, to raise money for the Bloomington Animal Shelter. The group raised more than $180.
Volunteers washed, conditioned and dried dogs brought to Dunn Meadow in a day of pet pampering.
“It’s a heck of a lot easier than doing it myself,” Tomlinson said, laughing. “It’s a
bargain.”
With a fairly steady stream of dogs, the volunteers catered to the pets’ needs with a spa shampoos and a variety of shampoos for oily skin and dry skin before rewarding each dog with a doggy treat and a
frisbee.
A variety of businesses donated the supplies, including T&T Pet Supplies and London Dog, who donated the shampoo and conditioner; Hacker’s Creek Kennel, who donated frisbees; and City of Bloomington Utilities, who donated the water meter and water.
“Some people asked us to wash their kids too,” said Kara Kendall, community outreach coordinator of Revitalizing Animal Well-Being.
With a mixture of mostly medium and large dogs, the owners were willing to step up and help calm the dogs, sometimes even getting wet themselves.
With six volunteers working together to hold, wash and spray the dogs, they worked to do the job using a garden hose that ran across Seventh Street. The hose sprouted a hole during the day after numerous cars ran over it, complicating the washing process because of the fear that the hose would burst if not shut off between washes.
The volunteers were happy to sit and wait between washes, though every dog seen in Dunn Meadow was soon tracked down in hopes of leading them over to be washed.
When dogs weren’t available to wash, Courtney Wennerstrom, co-founder and co-president of Revitalizing Animal Well-Being, sat with Kodiak, her black and white woolly Siberian husky, brushing him in preparation for his own bath.
“I just love the dogs that come here all happy and then are like, oh god, what are you doing to me,” Kendall said.
Many owners said their pets came from the animal shelter and were thrilled with the opportunity to support.
Located on South Walnut Street, the Bloomington Animal Shelter offers adoption of cats and dogs at $75 for pets younger than five and $55 for pets older than five. Besides dogs, the shelter has cats, rabbits, rodents, guinea pigs and birds for adoption.
Through each washing, the volunteers laughed and talked while having fun with the pets. One volunteer made a horn on the poodle Finnigan with the soap and water.
“He’s a unicorn,” Deborah Strickland, co-founder and co-president of Revitalizing Animal Well-Being said, right before the “unicorn” shook soap and water all over the
volunteers.