'We wish there had been more dogs': Dog parade brings pet lovers Uptown

A hot and muggy day started Oxford's dog parade on Saturday, Aug. 3 in the Uptown parks. The heat didn't put a damper on the dogs' attitudes, though, as they trotted around the parks for a chance to win prizes for tallest dog, longest tail and best costume.

The parade lasted around 10 minutes, but the whole event, the Dog Days of Summer, went from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The day featured events ranging from pet adoptions to the Hamilton Dog Training Club demonstrating training techniques.

After the parade ended, the dogs and their families waited in Memorial Park to hear the winners. Athena won longest tail, Lincoln won best costume and Toby won tallest dog.

Kat Storen and Rachael Spall's dachshund mix, Lincoln, was the only dog in-costume, automatically granting him the winner. Storen and Spall said he loves to get dressed up and wear clothes; making it a win-win situation.

"We wish there had been more [dogs]," Storen said. "I was expecting a little better turnout, but you know next year or whenever they do it again he'll be here for it."

Sigrid Page, the practice manager at Oxford Veterinary Hospital, said in years prior there have been 10 to 20 dogs participating, but she thinks the weather played a part in the small turnout that morning.

Initially, the veterinary hospital sponsored the event to promote business Uptown, but about five years ago The Animal Care Clinic and Page decided that it would be fun to get more dogs involved in the community.

"It's great for people in the community as something that's fun and wholesome to do as a family," Page said. "As for Uptown people, it's great to get exposure and have that increase in funding [because] people buy things, and so it keeps the town alive when the students aren't here."

The Hamilton Training Club had a booth at the event and is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. The club has the motto "We train you to train your dog."

The club's 150 members learn obedience training, while the club itself trains dogs to become therapy animals. The dogs can even participate in their own sports, club president Kathy Maurer said.

"People really like dog sports because the dogs can do dock diving and running and tracking and all these things, and dogs love that kind of stuff," Maurer said. "It gives them something to do and it's it's really nice to be able to work things with your dog."

Melanie Allen, a liberty, Indiana resident, brought her three-year-old dog to visit the farmer's market and the dog parade in an attempt to make him more comfortable around groups of people and to help him get over some of his fears from before Allen rescued him.

"He goes to a local vet here that we really really love, which is the Oxford Veterinary Hospital and they're just fantastic," Allen said. "So that's another reason I came up because I heard that they had a booth."

The Six booths all held fun dog themed treats from pet friendly mocktails and dog treats to an assortment of toys.

"I just like seeing all the people and their pets meeting people," Page said.