Shelby Township hosts special Bow Wow Luau at splash pad

SHELBY TOWNSHIP — The township held a special event for dogs and their families to enjoy Sept 10.

A special Bow Wow Luau was held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the splash pad at Chief Gene Shepherd Park.

Community members were invited to bring their dogs to the splash pad for a day of fun in the sun. The event had two separate times, depending on their dogs’ weights, for owners to bring their four-legged friends to enjoy the refreshing water.

Dogs weighing 35 pounds and less were given the time period from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Then dogs who weighed more than 35 pounds wrapped up the event.

The cost was $5 per dog for Shelby Township and Utica residents only. Owners were told to know their dogs, and at the discretion of the attendant, aggressive dogs were not allowed or were asked to leave without refund. Vaccine proof and a dog license were required.

Amber Brunn, the administrative program assistant of the Parks, Recreation & Maintenance Department, who was in charge of the event, said that the event went very well and that it was a great day to have all the dogs out having so much fun together.

“We had a great day. Weather was perfect. We had two dogs under 35 pounds and around 25 dogs over 35 pounds. It was a fun event to meet people in the Shelby/Utica community, and the dogs had a blast running around, playing fetch and splashing through the Chief Gene Shepherd Splash Pad,” she said via email.

Cynthia Martel, the assistant director at the Parks, Recreation &Maintenance Department, said it was nice to see both the dogs and their owners having a great day enjoying themselves.

“We are very happy to offer this event to our residents so their ‘fur-babies’ can enjoy a day splashing around in the park, too. It was really nice to see all the dogs and their owners enjoying themselves on such a nice day. We look forward to hosting the event again next year and hope that we can get even more residents to join in on the fun,” said Martel via email.