How About them Dogs! The Dogs Take over the Town & Make a Difference!

It is good to check in with you. I cannot thank you enough for all your support at the Hike with Your Hound event last night. The dog days are certainly back in our forecast with plenty of humidity and the dogs certainly took over Columbian Park last night transforming it into Bark Park. There was a record turn-out yesterday for the big event! There were over 200 four-legged friends that showed up with their owners helping to raise enough money for Addy Demaray. She is a 4 year old that suffers from a rare disease that causes seizures. Addy's angels came through for her in a big way last night. She has more than one guardian angel that is for sure. It is just another great example of what makes this area a special place to live. This event was for free, but folks eagerly gave donations to help raise enough money for Addy to be able to have a service dog. Mission accomplished! Addy can now go outside and play when the weather is nice without worrying about having a seizure that can cause her to bump her head or have another serious injury. The service dog she can now purchase thanks to last night's walk will sense the chemical change in her body alerting her to go inside before the seizure keeping her much safer. I spoke with her Mom Megan who shed many happy tears. Addy's Dad currently serving in Iraq could not be there but he certainly was there in spirit and would have loved to see all the support. The poster you see above says it all!

It was not only a touching evening but it was a ton of fun. I enjoyed being a judge at the pet contest at 7:30 p.m. with Sheila Klinker, Tony Roswarski, and the Doctor. It was a much tougher job than I remember it being last year. You can see one of the dogs in the smiling contest above. Now that is how I smile after a snowstorm and sums up the mood last night! The weather was perfect.

The pet tricks were very impressive and it included dancing dogs. I was trying to take notes before my Arthur Murray dance lessons begin. I have always wanted to learn to dance and if the little dog above can do it so can I. My grandmother was a dance teacher so I know I have it in me! More details on this new big adventure of mine will be coming your way on this blog in the weeks ahead.

This picture I snapped came out a little blurry but I still think you can see the resemblence in the pet-owner look-alike contest. You are certainly looking at the first place winners without a doubt. It was the only easy call we had as judges all night long.

The costume contest was won by the pirate dog and I think he would give Johnny Depp a run for his money. The Dogs of the Carribean would be a great sequel, don't you think! There was also a clown dog we loved and of course the dog dressed in Purdue colors. Boiler Up!

My favorite part of the night was when Lucy the therapy dog you see above jumped over my back. No, I was not standing and I became her prop by crouching over and doing my dog imitation. It certainly made me laugh. Lucy needed two jumps to clear me but successfully jumped the weatherman. It capped off a wonderful evening. Lindsey House did another great job this year and I cannot wait to get out there again next year.

Now last but not least I spoke of a tornado dog hero out in Benton County where the tornado hit just over two weeks ago! Here is the great story.

Mike,

Anne and I went out to shut the doors on the toolshed around midnight. It was calm, but the lightning was getting closer and really putting on a show. As we walk out to the toolshed, Sadie was nipping at out fingers, which she rarely does. At times she will nip at the boys clothes but never on Anne or mine. Which lead us to believe we were in for something. Sadie was in the shed with us while we shut the doors and all the way back to the house she was nipping at our clothes and our fingers. When we were back in the house we turned on the TV and weather radio. Shortly after we turned the weather radio on, we heard that there was a possible tornado around Freeland Park, headed towards Boswell. That is when we made our decision to get the boys and head for the basement. Sadie was born October 8, 2007, so she was 10 months old. She is an Australian Sheperd. Hope this is helpful.

Sincerely Brad Harman

Thanks Brad! I will make sure to post Sadie's picture. I wish all of our human viewers were like Sadie and they heeded the warning when those sirens go off! I did snap the heroine's picture and will post it here on Friday. Now are you ready for some football? Will there be more points than rainfall and can you keep those weekend plans? Tune in tonight for more answers and I will talk to you soon here on the blog.