DATE: Sunday, September 14, 1997            TAG: 9709120251

SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER      PAGE: 02   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: RANDOM RAMBLES 

SOURCE: Tony Stein 

                                            LENGTH:   76 lines

CALLING ALL CANINES TO BRING THEIR OWNERS TO BARK IN THE PARK

If this column came equipped with loud speakers, you could hear what I'm about to do - toot my own horn.

Actually, not exactly my individual horn, but the horn of the Chesapeake Humane Society, of which I am proud to be vice president. On Sunday, Sept. 21 - WRITE THAT DATE DOWN NOW! - the humane society will present Bark in the Park. Chesapeake City Park, that is. It will be a dog-filled, fun-filled afternoon; a wowser, we hope, for your bowser.

Bark in the Park will be part of that dandy weekend do, Fall Fest, am annual event produced by the Chesapeake Parks and Recreation Department. In the past, Fall Fest has been a one-day stand, but this year another day was added and the humane society was invited under the Fall Fest umbrella. The Fest starts Saturday, Sept. 20, with animal and craft exhibits and demonstrations of traditional craft skills. On Sunday, Sept. 21, from noon to 5 p.m. is when the barking in the park sounds off.

The Bark in the Park schedule includes a whole roster of dog-related activity, including contests, K-9 and obedience demonstrations and booths manned by a gamut of area animal welfare and animal rescue organizations. Relax, humans, we didn't forget you. There will be an antique car display, line dancing, food vendors and - a big, bright fanfare please - a chance to win a three-night vacation to the Bahamas. That's courtesy of Princess Vacations, one of the sponsors giving Bark in the Park a healthy boost. The other sponsors are PETsMART, Chesapeake Animal Hospital, Pampered Pet Emporium, Animal Glamour and Thelma and Louise.

Whoa, you say. Weren't Thelma and Louise those two women in the movie where they blazed a trail of fiesty feminine but illegal tactics all over the West? No, not THAT Thelma and Louise. Our Thelma and Louise sponsors are the two Yorkshire terriers who let Humane Society president Wanda Morris live in their house.

Our contests, by the way, won't be any snooty stuff where pooch pedigrees reign. We'll award ribbons for any-dog talent, such as best behaved and best barker. There's even a category for best owner-barker. The entry fee is two bucks.

Park in the Park is a big thing for the society, and let this be a deep bow in the direction of the Parks and Rec people who are doing so much to help us make it happen. As a matter of fact, 1997 is a whole big year for us. It's the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Humane Society.

When we started, the city animal shelter was an old building too small to serve the city Chesapeake had become. The society considered building its own shelter but decided that would be too big a drain on human and financial resources. The successful alternative was to give the city $30,000 to pay for an architect and consultant. The shelter they designed opened in 1987. Then we kicked in another $50,000 to add an education room to the shelter. We've also worked with the city on establishing model animal laws and upgrading the training of animal officers.

It's fact, not brag, that homeless animals in Chesapeake now get a better break than they used to. Now the city and the society, though entirely separate, work together to make things better for the animals out there in our sprawling community.

One very good example of the city's enlightened attitude is that Chesapeake animal officers undergo the same training as police officers. ``Dog catchers?'' Not here. Not any more.

Whatever the society does is on a volunteer basis and all our money comes from donations. We use the cash to pay for educational programs in the schools and civic clubs and for our spay-neuter assistance. That's where we give a voucher to people who adopt animals from the city shelter.

And right here, I'm going to do a small ``commercial'' for adopting a pet from the shelter. One of the lights of our life for the past seven years has been Laurie, the little mixed breed we adopted in 1990. She is every good thing you could want a pet to be. Dog show material? No way. But a champion of love and loyalty. So, if you're looking for a companion, give it a try at the shelter in the Cavalier Industrial Park. You won't regret it, even on the next bitter winter evening when Rover says he's gotta go.

Adopt a pooch now and, who knows, maybe it will fetch home a ribbon at Bark in the Park. Or maybe you and your family will just have a very good time from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21. One thing. If you have any pull with The Man Upstairs, no rain, please.

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