Swim instructor and lifeguard Mary Cronin is used to helping children stay afloat in Vancouver’s Marshall pool.
But on Labor Day, she kept both of her hands underneath a Welsh corgi named Cheddar who was timidly navigating the water.
“If they’re really scared, I let them know I’m here,” Cronin said.
She quickly admitted, though, that “it’s more like playing with them than work.”
Cronin was one of a handful of lifeguards in the pool Monday for the second annual Pooch Plunge at Marshall Community Center. The event allows local pet owners to bring their dogs to enjoy the water before the pool is drained for annual maintenance.
Many pet owners said they were grateful to have a safe, controlled environment where their four-legged companions could swim.
Cheddar’s human, John Weisenberger, drove from Portland because the pool was a safer place for Cheddar to swim than area rivers.
“With the river, there’s a lot of X factors, … and corgis aren’t the strongest swimmers,” he said. “She’s scared to go in the water, but it’s better than sitting at home.”
Before the event, lifeguards learned dog first aid, which included how to perform CPR on a canine.
“They’re all mouth-to-snout trained,” said Karen Krohling, a Marshall Community Center employee who organized the event. “They practiced on my boxer (Monday) morning.”
Although safety was a huge plus at the event, fun reigned as dogs splashed, paddled and fetched. Others whimpered at the pool’s edge, pawing the water as toys floated several feet away.
Natalie Middleton said this Labor Day was devoted to her 9-year-old pug, Tater.
“We went to the dog park this morning and a little swim this afternoon,” she said. “It’s Tater’s day.”
Wearing a “Pugs not Drugs” T-shirt, she said, “We’re a little ridiculous, but he’s my buddy.”
Tater wore a pug-sized life jacket because Middleton knows his swimming habits.
“Sometimes, he’ll bob in the water,” she said. “It takes him a little while to remember he needs to paddle.”
