Mark your calendar!
Bark in the Park
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WBM
DOGS RULE
At Bark in the Park
All are welcome to cheer on canine competitors and
fashionistas at the annual event
DBY CHRISTINE R. GONZALEZ | PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALAN CRADICK OGS will have a field day at the 27th annual Bark in the Park
on Saturday, Oct. 2 beginning at 11 a.m. at the Wrightsville
Beach Park.
Dogs will enjoy a friendly competition of disc catching, with
extra points given for catches in the air. They can also compete
for Best Dressed Dog, and with their human in the Best Dressed Team events.
Winners will be determined by applause, and possibly bark volume.
One human may enter multiple dogs for the disc catching and/or the cos-tume
events. For pet safety, costumes should not be worn by dogs during the
disc competition.
Wrightsville Beach Recreation Program Supervisor Katie Ryan says registra-tion
began early this year.
“I think people are anxious to get outdoors,” Ryan says. “Even if you don’t have
dogs, it is an entertaining event and free to the community.”
The disc-catching event “is a distance and accuracy event with Hyperflite
discs,” Ryan says. “The dogs have two rounds to accumulate points, based on the
distance of the throw and catch
and whether they complete the
catch with all four paws off the
ground.”
The contest is open to all skill
levels, even if you have never
seen your dog jump or catch.
There are usually about 30
canine entrants.
“We have beginners coming
out who have never participated
to those who have
participated year after year,”
Ryan says. She notes the town
did not hold the event in 2020
due to the pandemic.
Doggie bag swag will be given
to the top competitors in each
event.
There will be pet supply ven-dors
on hand, along with Heidi’s
Hope for Homeless Animals, a
local nonprofit that helps home-less
animals and owners in need
of pet care assistance.
Ryan reminds that the day is
for dogs, so please leave any
distractions, such as your pet cat,
at home.
SHORTS
Oct. 2nd
27th Annual
More than 30 canines
competed alongside their
humans at the 2019 Bark in
the Park event in Wrightsville
Beach Park. Above: T-Dog,
a four-year-old Belgian
Malinois, leaps for the disc
sent aloft by Drake Parker.
Left, top: Percy, a seven-year-old
pug/Boston terrier mix,
warms up before competition.
Left, bottom: Waylon, a one
and a half-year-old German
short-haired pointer, catches
the disc thrown by Lisa
Wayne.