Rescue Weekends begin at Penn Valley Dog Park

Gretchen, a GSD/Dobie mix, needs a home! (K. Wall/Examiner.com)

A slideshow follows this article.

Dog parks are always busy places during beautiful weekends. KCMO's Dogpark Improvement Group hopes adoption organizations will take advantage of the traffic during Rescue Weekends at Penn Valley Dog Park.

DIG, the volunteer group that raises funds to improve the dog park, has scheduled these rescue events for the second weekend of every month through October. They run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Wyandotte parking lot near the east side of the dog park (Wyandotte and 29th St., KCMO).

Missouri German Shepherd Rescue was one of the two organizations that set up tables during Saturday's kickoff. MOGS volunteers brought two darling Shepherd mixes in need of homes, and chatted with fellow German Shepherd Dog lovers who came to visit during the breezy day.

Volunteers from Missourians for the Protection of Dogs were also there on Saturday; they were collecting signatures for the petition to get puppy mill cruelty prevention legislation before Missouri voters in November. The group will be at the dog park again on Sunday.

DIG says a few shelters and rescue groups are signing up for future dates, but not as many as DIG would like to see. There's no charge to participate. If your rescue organization would like to be involved, DIG asks that you send an email to digannouncements@gmail.com to request a date.
 

Precious, a Shepherd mix, needs a family! (K. Wall/Examiner.com)

Gretchen and Precious, both pictured in this story, are available for adoption. Want more information on these dogs? Contact MOGS at 816-682-9435 or mogsrescue@yahoo.com. You can see more GSDs and GSD mixes on the MOGS website.

Speaking of dog parks: Now that the weather is turning beautiful in the Kansas City metro, dog owners are taking their favorite pooches to their local dog parks for off-leash fun. Please be a responsible dog owner and either leave retractable leashes at home, or remove them immediately upon entering the park. Retractable leashes are extremely dangerous in any situation where other dogs are running loose. These leashes can cause serious injuries to both dogs and people. Dogs may not see a thin lead before they run into it. Pets may become tangled during a scuffle. Or the leash could wrap around a child, knocking the child down—or worse. Many dog parks post signs forbidding these leashes. But some dog owners continue to ignore the warnings. Again, please do not bring retractable leashes into an off-leash dog park.

The following slideshow features scenes from Saturday's Rescue Weekend event at Penn Valley Dog Park in KCMO.
 

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