The K9Splash! Committee is pleased to present a new way of registering for this year's event: online registration. To register online, go to: https://secure.getmeregistered.com/K9Splash. There is a small additional fee, but it is still less expensive than registering the day of the event. Please have your vet records and credit card information ready.

As always, you can still register in person, over the phone, or through the mail with no additional fees. However, in 2014 we will NOT be accepting off-leash park tags as proof of vaccinations because we require proof of rabies, parvo, and distemper. We are looking forward to another safe, fun, and exciting event. Hope to see you there.

K9COLA at the Freedom Festival

On Saturday June 28 K9COLA will be hosting a Freedom Fest event called "Finding Freedom: A K9 Treat Hunt!" Cost is $5.00 without a button or $2 with. We will also be having recall testing (see the article below), a competition for the most Patriotic owner / dog combo contest, a best trick contest, and lots of fun demos. See our flyer. 

This year, K9COLA will have a booth at three of the Downtown Farmers Markets in Cedar Rapids: July 5, August 2, and September 5. Come visit us there!

K9COLA is also accepting handmade / homemade items to sell at its markets. Please contact Jill to donate items.

On Sunday July 6, Devotay in Iowa City will be donating 20% of its revenue to K9COLA . Business hours that day are from 4pm to 9pm. Please stop by and enjoy their delicious food and help us out as well. Be sure to like them on Facebook and say thanks for sponsoring this fundraiser for us. Questions? email Jesse at jesse@k9cola.org.

2014 Recall Testing:
Saturday, June 14, 10:00 a.m. @ K9 Acres      
Sunday, September 7, 2:00 p.m. @ Cheyenne

Another date is Saturday June 28 at 1:00 pm at K9 Acres. This is part of our Freedom Festival event.

We are done when all testing for that day is complete, so please be there at the start time.

Please let us know if you plan to attend on one of these dates. That way, if we have a last minute weather-related cancellation, we can contact you. Still have questions about the test or how it works? Email info@k9cola.org.

 

Many "Paws" for the Greater Good

 

Volunteer organizations often find themselves sharing volunteers with other organizations, and K9COLA is no exception: volunteers like to support both organizations at the same time. I'm pleased to tell you a story where this worked out for everyone.

On March 17 a K9COLA volunteer decided to walk in the SAPADAPASO parade with a dog, Penny, that was being fostered by another one her organizations, Critter Crusaders. A family at the parade saw how calm and well-behaved Penny was; they followed up with her foster family and ended up adopting her. We are so glad that Anna was able to join us in the parade with Penny and that Penny found her new forever home. We hope to be able to work together with other organizations in the future to help more canines in the community.

- Marie Appel

The season of ripgut and painful vet bills is here. Foxtails, a longtime scourge in the West, can now be a problem in every state. And climate change may add a twist. Studies find that weeds grow faster under elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide; will migrate northward and are less sensitive to herbicides. A botanist who researched their effects on dogs also warns about a deadly disease.

Sporting dog owners may know it best since field dogs routinely charge into thick brush, where they easily inhale or swallow foxtails, and spend hours in grassy hotspots. But dogs playing in the park or yard, hiking, at a roadside stop; any dog, wherever foxtails live, can develop grass awn migration disease.

It begins with a jagged seed. Read More