Sunday, August 21, 2011 saw the first ever ‘Must Love Dogs NW’ event held at Esther Short Park in downtown Vancouver, Washington. As with most events, part of the fun is to have prominent people occupy the “dunk tank,” giving others the opportunity to dunk them into water, for a small fee to be applied towards the particular event.
I didn’t arrive early enough to tape some others, but was pleased to see Craig Riley, who is running against Sharon Wylie for the seat in the 49th legislative district sitting on the dunk tank and, having fun at it, as did those who successfully dunked him (especially the children).
Must Love Dogs NW is “a no-kill rescue and adoption agency that also educates and helps in the community for dogs. They also offer a number of programs to help low-income pet owners and just plain out love what they do.” You can visit their website at www.MustLoveDogsNW.com.
Besides the dunk tank, events included a Live Performance from Vancouver’s Own Katelynne Cox, Home Depot Kids Building Workshop, Micro-Chipping Clinic for Dogs, a Doggy Fashion Show and over 30 vendors as well as visits from the mascots for the Portland Winterhawks, Portland Timbers and the Portland Trailblazers.
Chris Boyd, organizer of the event said he was very pleased with the large turnout seen today. From all of the smiles I witnessed on dog lovers and several small children, they too were well pleased.
Others who took a turn in the dunk tank included Vancouver City Council Members Bart Hansen and Larry Smith, Clark County GOP Chair Brandon Vick, 18th legislative district representative Ann Rivers as well as Ossie Bladine and Jared Hidden of the Vancouver Voice.
With the primary election recently finished, it was really nice to see some politicians and candidates participating to benefit a good cause before they gear up for the general election in earnest.
Many thanks to all who attended and participated to make this first ever “Must Love Dogs NW” a ‘splashing’ success.
