Pet Carnival
Ten first-grade students are very excited about the free Pet Carnival they’ve organized for May 4, 1-4 p.m. in Schenley Park, at the Oval Shelter on Overlook Drive.
Students from Kentucky Avenue School, an independent school in Shadyside, have invented games just for canines, including a peanut butter licking booth, a kissing booth and a digging game, where dogs can look for bones buried in sand.
Raffles and donations will raise money for three local groups: Joey’s P.A.W., which helps raise money for prosthetics and wheels for handicapped pets; Charlie & Friends, which supports organizations that re-home and rehabilitate homeless pets; and FurKid Rescue.
Teacher Krista Amigh said her students have been working on this project all year as part of a lesson on empathy, compassion and stepping up to help others. “You can do something,” is one of their slogans, said Ms. Amigh, who is also co-founder of Charlie & Friends. Charlie is her dog, rescued from a shelter in southern Texas where he was scheduled to be euthanized.
The first-graders have sold breakfast pizzas and held other fundraisers for the Pet Carnival, their teacher said. In the course of planning the carnival, they’ve also learned how to do public speaking and write business letters, she said.
Tracking in the park
Dogs don’t have to be bloodhounds to enjoy tracking and following scents, especially when the tracking is done in a lovely park on a spring day.
Weimaraners, German shepherds, Dalmatians and even a tiny papillon will be tracking in Mingo Creek County Park in Eighty-Four, Washington County, on May 19, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
The Greater Pittsburgh Tracking Club is inviting non-members to bring dogs out for a free day of tracking instructions. Nina Biehler of South Strabane, a club member and event organizer, will be there with her Weimaraners, Harley and Rigby, who have earned tracking titles in American Kennel Club competitions. They will be joined by Zoey, a German shepherd owned by club member Tom Snee of Ross.
“Many breeds can do tracking, not just the sporting and working breeds,” Ms. Biehler said.
Club members will help first-time trackers learn the ropes. All dogs will be on 40-foot lead lines for tracking. Dogs should arrive at the event wearing non-restrictive harnesses attached to a 6-foot leash.
Club members will “lay a scent” before the event, and dogs will be encouraged to follow it, Ms. Biehler said. If they correctly follow the track, they will find a glove at the end of the course. The tracking course will take just a couple of minutes to complete, which is much shorter than the courses in tracking competitions.
Hot dogs will be participants’ rewards for good tracking, she said.
The club can certify two dogs for AKC tracking tests, but that has to be lined up in advance. Contact Ms. Biehler at weimtracker@comcast.net to do that or to get more information.
Looking for scoff laws
The state’s dog wardens are going door to door in Allegheny County and 22 other counties, looking to see if dog licenses and rabies vaccinations for dogs and cats are up to date.
The wardens from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture are winding up April canvasses in Allegheny, Mercer and Westmoreland counties. Violators can be fined $300 for each violation. Wardens will wear uniforms labeled with Pennsylvania Dog Law Enforcement Warden. They’ll have badges and state identification.
Dog licenses can be purchased in the office of each county treasurer. The cost is $6.50 for spayed and neutered dogs and $8.50 for intact dogs.
Linda Wilson Fuoco: lfuoco@post-gazette.com or 412-263-3064.
First Published: April 26, 2019, 12:00 p.m.
