Dogs take a dip at Waterloo Region’s biggest puppy pool paw-ty

While the dog days of summer are over, that didn’t stop hundreds of puppies from splashing with friends to raise money for the Humane Society.

The annual Dash and Splash event by the Humane Society of Kitchener Waterloo & Stratford Perth made its return on Sunday to the Kiwanis Park pool in Kitchener.

The event raises thousands of dollars every year for Humane Society programming and resources, while also giving pups the chance to jump into the pool one last time before the summer ends.

Humane Society CEO Victoria Baby told CTV News the event went swimmingly this year for everyone involved.

“Fundraising is really important to us because all of our humane work is funded by donors and donations,” she said. “We’re not funded by the government to do a lot of our work. So, something like this is a win win. You have animal owners [and] the dogs having a blast and they also contribute to the operation of our humane society.”

Donations were given through admission ticket sales as well as anyone who was interested in fundraising ahead of the Dash and Splash.

Baby said this year the organization is expecting to make around $40,000.

“It grows every year and we’re very fortunate to have the support [by] letting us use this beautiful Kiwanis pool and letting our animals have a lot of fun.”

Melody Lee and her two pups took the plunge on the Dash and Splash event for the first time.

“Both our dogs love to swim and we just thought it’d be really fun for them,” she said. “We also think the Humane Society is a great charity, so it’s a way of supporting the Humane Society as well as giving your dog something fun to do.”

She said she’d definitely bring her dogs for a swim again and encouraged other dog owners to do the same.

“It’s just something special just for your dogs, right? We do lots for our kids if we have them or for ourselves, so it seems like a treat for them,” said Lee.

Tiktok star Waldo the Wonder Dog was also poolside, with his owner Jess Parker, who launched her new children’s book about her heroic puppy.

“The last time you might have seen me my leg was very broken and this amazing corgi here, Waldo, my dog, rescued me,” Parker said. “While I was healing, I actually wrote this children’s book about Waldo…we’ve been taking Waldo to Dash and Splash since he was a puppy. We love supporting the Humane Society, and of course, it’s just such a fun event for dogs all around.”

Parker said partnering with the Humane Society would allow her book while also raising money for the organization and allowing Waldo to enjoy the pool.

“When we knew Dash and Splash was coming back this year, we thought ‘let’s partner with the Humane Society,’” she said. “We’re giving back 10 per cent of the book sales [moving forward] to the Humane Society.”

Anjali Sadawarte brought her five-year-old puppy Aleena to enjoy the water.

“There are no pools for dogs actually here [in Waterloo Region],” said Sadawarte. “So, this is something that we can do for them. It’s the last day of summer and I wanted her to experience other dogs and have some new friends.”