Bradley Cruikshank and pooch Nika complete the swim portion of the fifth annual Doggie Duathlon Aug. 14 at Kalamalka Lake Provincial Park.

Bradley Cruikshank and pooch Nika complete the swim portion of the fifth annual Doggie Duathlon Aug. 14 at Kalamalka Lake Provincial Park.

A dog day afternoon at Pooch Partners’ Doggie Duathlon

You could feel the excitement of the dog-letes at the start of Pooch Partners’ fifth annual Doggie Duathlon.

You could feel the excitement of the dog-letes at the start of Pooch Partners’ fifth annual Doggie Duathlon.

The non-competitive event Aug. 14 at Kalamalka Lake Provincial Park, saw 25 pooches with their human partners complete the course, which had options of 2, 5 or 8.5 km walk or run followed by a refreshing 25 or 50 m dip in Kal Lake.

Mother Nature once again delivered the perfect weather for dogs of various breeds, sizes and ages, along with men and women of varying ages and fitness levels, to enjoy the beautiful courses at the park.

The event raised $500 for The Road Home Rescue and Safekeeping Society, a Vernon organization that provides safekeeping for animals that are temporarily homeless due to emergency circumstances including natural disasters, accidents, fire, owner hospitalization and other scenarios.

In addition to all the participants and volunteers, huge thanks to the incredible support of the event sponsors who made it possible for all participants to receive fabulous event bags filled with goodies as well as randomly drawn prizes: Sun FM, AJ’s Pets & Things, Healthy Spot Pet Nutrition & Supply, Stussi Sport, Village Green Hotel, John Deak — Century 21, Creekside Animal Clinic, Pet Secure, RC Pet Products, Kiss the Monkey Photography, Okanagan Engraving and Active Vernon Massage.

Don’t miss next year’s event scheduled for Aug. 13 — earlybird registration is open now at poochpartners.ca.

 

Vernon Morning Star