Skeeter goes to the park for SPCA event

There are so many different things to see and smell, I did not know quite what to do with myself during my first visit. But first let me introduce myself. My name is Mosquito, but my mommy calls me Skeeter, and I am a 4-month-old red Dachshund. On Saturday, I attended the annual Augusta Regional SPCA Pets in the Park dressed as a wicked witch with orange and black hair.

I have not met many dogs yet, because I needed to have all my shots up-to-date before I could start socializing, but this weekend I was old enough to start making friends. And I made lots of friends on Saturday! My first friend was Bella. She is a sweet rescue who is exactly my age. While we were making polite dog introductions, I overheard my mommy talking to Bella’s owner. His name is Rob Myers. “I picked her up about two months ago,” he said. “She is a rescue. They told me she was born in the kennel.”

She was born in the shelter? That did not sound like a place a dog should ever be born in. I do not know much about shelters, but I know that being at the park on Saturday was to help support animals like my new friend who were born into the world with no family, or who had no home.

I thought Bella was beautiful.

Big German Shepherds

She had soft fur and looked like an Australian Shepherd mixed with something exotic like a lab or hound.

My mommy was impressed when she learned Bella was housetrained the day her owner brought her home. I try very hard to not have any accidents inside, but I am not housetrained like my new friend. Bella’s owner talked about her great attitude and said she was supper loving, but he did not have to tell me that. I thought she was great.

Augie, who has a nickname like me, got his name from Augusta County, his owner said. He was a very big Golden Retriever. “He is like two Goldens because he is so big,” said John Mohme, Augie’s owner.

Augie’s owner made him lay down before we made introductions. I was so excited to see a big dog on my level I politely belly-crawled up to him. “He gets along with everything,” his owner said.

“He even gets along with cats if they are nice,” said Nancy Mohme, who also owns Augie.

While he was very big, I got along great with Augie. We even went for a walk around the park at the same time. Several other dogs, like an old English sheepdog, a couple of pit bulls, whippets and even a Big German shepherd walked with us around the park after raising money for SPCA.

Altogether, 19 dogs signed up to walk during the event.

My mommy talked to Debbie Caywood when we got back from our long walk. Caywood is the executive director of the Augusta Regional SPCA and said the Pets in the Park event had to be rescheduled because of the hurricane weather in September.

Caywood said the event does a lot of things like raise awareness about services in the area for four-legged animals like me, provide educational opportunities and brings the community together for the day. “But it also allows people to bring their pets and show them off,” she said.

I had so much fun on Saturday, but the best part, was meeting my new best friend Cora.

Cora is a border terrier with a rough coat and the best attitude in the world! She is 5-months-old and even though she is bigger than me, she got down and belly-crawled to me! How amazing is that?

Ceci Laviolette is Cora’s owner and she says she walks her ever day in the park. I would love to spend every day in Gypsy Hill Park, but especially now because I know Cora is going to be there. “I have other dogs, but they are anti-social,” Laviolette said with a laugh. Cora was so sweet. She did not wear her Halloween costume to the event, but she watched me walk around during the costume show and cheered me on. And guess what?

I won first place!

Cora did enter the puppy class show with me, but the best part of the day was when Cora was named best of show out of all the dogs. My first day at the park in Staunton was the best a dog could ever hope for and I can’t wait to go to Pets in the Park next year. You should come join me. There were lots of people who had dogs and lots of people who did not have any dogs there. I even saw my first cat!

It was an amazing day.