Dogs have their day at Paws in the Park

There might be some satisfaction that you’re doing a good thing when you clean up after your dog, but  “Scooping the Poop”at the 4th-annual Paws in the Park earned raffle tickets for dog owners doing their duty.

Denise Wernlein, who came to Paws in the Park at Prince William Forest Park on Saturday with her dog Otis, a miniature Australian shepherd, learned from the park rangers that there are 23 million coliform bacteria in a single gram of dog droppings.

What your dog leaves behind can contain heartworms, parvo, giardiasis and salmonellosis — all nasty things that can remain in the ground for years and cause harm to other dogs, wildlife and humans.

Wernlein also learned why the park rangers insist that dogs remain on a leash.

“It can attack wildlife or be killed by wildlife,” she said of a dog let loose in the forest that is home to bears and coyotes.

Sick, injured or rabid wildlife also present a dangers to dogs running loose.

Another reason to keep your dog leashed in the park is that park rangers can fine dog owners $75 for letting their dogs loose.

Robin Harper and  Matt Dannemann of the Virginia Search and Rescue Dog Association were at the pooch party with their German Shepherds, Leah and Danne, to give a search dog demonstration and pointers about being  lost in the woods.

Often, people search for someone who is missing for an hour or more before calling authorities,   but it’s best to call for help immediately, Dannemann said

“‘Sooner than later’ is a big part of the message we want to put out,” Dannemann said.

The association’s dogs can catch scents of humans on the air.

When they find someone, the dogs run back to their handlers, alert them and lead their handlers to the one they’ve found.

Harper said giving the demonstration helps children the most.

“It helps the kids not be afraid if they’re lost and they run into a dog coming in and barking. It also gives them information how not to get lost in the woods and what to do if they do get lost — to stay put  and know someone is going to come get them,” she said.

All of the information about rescue dogs added to the fun the dogs and their people seemed to be having.

There were wading pools for the dogs who liked water and representatives from TD Bank gave away water bowls.

Twilla and Lonnie Miller said it was just a good time for a Saturday in the park.

“It’s just something fun to do to get out of the house and bring the dogs and let them get out,” Twilla Miller said of her two basset hounds Leo and Napoleon. 

Carl and Linda Ennis came with Jetah, their their lab-mix shelter dog.

 “When she gets around dogs, she has a wonderful time,” Carl Ennis said.

“It’s fun and informative,” he said of Paws in the Park where dogs had the chance to play with one another in a fenced-off section, get endless ear and belly rubs and bark a lot.

The United States Marine Corps Security battalion, MP Company K-9 Section, Martin Gallery and Samson, Veteran’s moving Forward, Canine Companions for independence, Bull Terrier Rescue of Virginia, Basset Rescue of Old Dominion, Top Dog Resort, Virginia German Shepherd Rescue, The Wag pack, Olde Town Pet Resort, Dumfries Animal Hospital, , $ paws Day Spa, Humane Society of Fairfax County, Northern Virginia Dog Magazine, The Friends of Prince William Forest Park, The Dog Eaze Inn, United States Park Police and Girl Scout Troop 1513 also participated in the event.