
DATE: Friday, September 26, 1997            TAG: 9709240143

SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER      PAGE: 06   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: COVER STORY 

SOURCE: BY ERIC FEBER, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  128 lines

DOG-DAY AFTERNOON PERFORMING POOCHES, FAMILY MUTTS BRING THEIR OWNERS TO CITY PARK FOR AN EXPANDED FALL FEST.

THE ACCEPTED MODE of conduct at Chesapeake City Park last Sunday was a lick of the hand and a wag of the tail; the in-look was a cold, wet nose and a shiny coat.

On a beautiful, fall-like day, hundreds of dog lovers flocked to Chesapeake City Park to experience Bark in the Park, the Sunday addition to the annual Chesapeake Fall Fest.

The park became a canine-fancier's paradise, with dogs of all sizes, ages, shapes and breeds out in full glory.

There were terriers, pugs, poodles, boxers, collies, retrievers, labs, Dalmatians, Dobermans, sheepdogs, greyhounds and St. Bernards along with as many lovable mutts as the eye could see.

``I had no idea so many would be here,'' said a woman whose Dalmatian led her away in a panic, straining at its leash.

``We had no idea we'd get this many people and their dogs,'' said a beaming Wanda J. Morris, president of the co-sponsoring Chesapeake Humane Society. ``Of course the weather did help. But it's heartening to see so many dog lovers and people come out. This has been a good fun-and-awareness event.''

The festival, which the Chesapeake Parks and Recreation Department and the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board started as a way to celebrate the city's parks and trails, has grown to include live entertainment, leisure-activity competitions, children's activities, senior citizen and teen art shows and last year's addition of Heritage Village, a look at traditional fiber crafts and skills organized by master weaver Holly Fox and Robin Freeman of Gum Tree Farms.

Parks and Rec contacted the Humane Society to enlist its participation in the yearly outdoor fete, Morris said. She said the group's participation enabled the festival to expand from Saturday only to include Sunday. When asked, she said her group jumped at the chance to join in to celebrate dogs, pets and responsible animal care.

On Sunday, there were herd-dog demonstrations, relay races, catch competitions, purebred contests and a Pups-On-Parade event that featured several humorous events including best-dressed dogs and canines that most resembled their owners.

One of the big winners that day was Clancey, a 7-year-old Irish wolfhound owned by Ann B. Crawford, a Centerville Turnpike resident and a volunteer at the Chesapeake Animal Shelter. The big friendly pooch won first place in the Pups On Parade's bark-off competition.

Crawford said it was just a matter of Clancey doing what he loves best.

``He loves to sing,'' she said. ``He'll do it on command and he'll do it anytime. I never trained him to do it. He just loves to sit in peoples' laps and sing.''

To keep dog lovers and families entertained there was line dancing by the Southern Attitude dance

group, demonstrations by the Portsmouth/Chesapeake Dog Obedience Club, a sled-dog demonstration by Dave Fox and a parade of champion purebred dogs.

The event also featured an Ask-the-Vet booth where dog owners posed questions to veterinarian Fred Brooks of the Chesapeake Animal Hospital.

``Do heart worms ever come out?,'' one dog owner asked Brooks.

``People mainly asked questions about dental health, vaccines, spaying and neutering and things like that,'' said Brooks, who is also on the board of directors of the Chesapeake Human Society. ``Nobody really asked me any off-the-wall questions, although one person did ask if I took care of horses.''

And there were different breed dog rescue outfits and groups committed to finding proper homes for abandoned or mistreated purebreds.

``We volunteered to come here to display our dog as a sort of poster dog for adopting greyhounds,'' said Sarah Scott of Chesapeake, holding on to the leash of Dagger, her 2 1/2-year-old greyhound, while her husband, Paul, and their children, Claire, 7 1/2, and Robert, 5, stood by. ``This is a good way to point out that there are too many dogs who really need homes.''

``People have come by to pet Dagger and see for themselves that greyhounds make good family pets,'' Paul Scott added.

Crawford was another dog lover who touted the work of rescue groups and the efforts of individuals to find homes for abandoned pooches. She said she got the singing Clancey when a neighbor no longer wanted to care for him.

``He was owned by a next-door neighbor who was a professor at Tidewater Community College,'' she said. ``My neighbor built a sailboat and when he retired he and his wife were going to spend their time sailing and had no room for Clancey.''

She said the day and a half before the neighbor was about to depart and take Clancey to the pound, the dog wandered into her yard. She decided then and there to take him in, but first she had to convince her husband.

``I just told him that he was his birthday present, so he had no choice,'' she said. ``But there's so many other dogs out there that need homes, and we hope people will be willing to step up and adopt them. I hope this event showed people the need.''

Lisa Barlow, a Virginia Beach resident who works at a Chesapeake pet clinic, attracted attention with her own huge, bushy Akita named Ohashi (which means chopsticks). ``This is a great way to learn about the important rescue dog groups and see so many different breeds of dogs.''

The event also included an array of vendors exhibiting everything from pet-bathing services, family pet photographic portraits and pet hotels to healthy foods, canine medicines and doggie sweaters, caps and sun visors.

Chesapeake resident Mark Coleman was at the park with his wife, Vicki, their children and, of course, the family pooch Buckwheat, a Labrador/bird dog mix.

``This gives dogs their day in the sun,'' Mark Coleman said. ``It's rare we're able to go to an event where you can take both your kids and your dog.''

``This gave people a chance to socialize with their pets,'' Crawford said. ``And it's the only time the park was open to dogs.'' MEMO: The Bark In the Park was sponsored by the Chesapeake Parks and

Recreation Department and the Chesapeake Humane Society with support

from Princess Vacations, Petsmart, Animal Glamour, the Pampered Pet

Emporium, the Chesapeake Animal Hospital and Thelma & Louise. ILLUSTRATION: Photos including color cover by PHYLLIS STEIN

Clancey, a 7-year-old Irish wolfhound, sings for owner Ann Crawford

of Chesapeake during his sinnign performance in the Parade of Pups

bark-off competition.

Is this a Dalmation? A black Labrador retriever painted with white

spots? Or a white German shepherd painted with black spots? Only the

painting booth artist knows for sure.

Co-sponsored by the Chesapeake Humane Society, Sunday's Bark in the

Park became a canine-fancier's paradise, with dogs of all sizes,

ages, shapes and breeds - and non-breeds - out in full glory.