Animal instincts: Jeffersonville Aquatic Center wraps up the year with goldfish run, pooch plunge

Clark County

Related Photos

Mckenna Kitchen, 10, welcomes Frisco and Chopper, Steve Pope's white German shepherds, while she and her brother, Shepherd, 8, play with Sabbi, their grandparents golden retriever, during the Pooch Plunge at the Aquatic Center in Jeffersonville on Saturday afternoon. Staff photo by Christopher Fryer
Frisco, one of Steve Pope's white German Shepherds, swims through the deep end during the Pooch Plunge at the Aquatic Center in Jeffersonville on Saturday afternoon. Staff photo by Christopher Fryer
Golden retrievers Merlin, left, and Sabbi horse around in the water during the Pooch Plunge at the Aquatic Center in Jeffersonville on Saturday afternoon. Staff photo by Christopher Fryer
Merlin, a golden retriever, runs through the water during the Pooch Plunge at the Aquatic Center in Jeffersonville on Saturday afternoon. Staff photo by Christopher Fryer
Shiloh, Luke and Lydia Church's beagle, hangs out next to the deep end during the Pooch Plunge at the Aquatic Center in Jeffersonville on Saturday afternoon. Staff photo by Christopher Fryer
Pacino, a fox terrier, attempts to find the best way out of the water during the Pooch Plunge at the Aquatic Center in Jeffersonville on Saturday afternoon. Staff photo by Christopher Fryer

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September 10, 2012

Animal instincts: Jeffersonville Aquatic Center wraps up the year with goldfish run, pooch plunge

By BRADEN LAMMERS braden.lammers@newsandtribune.com The News and Tribune Mon Sep 10, 2012, 12:00 AM EDT

JEFFERSONVILLE — For the sixth time, the Jeffersonville Aquatic Center marked the end of its season with the Pooch Plunge. And for the third time, goldfish preceded the dogs.

Pet owners and parents brought their kids and animals to the Jeffersonville Aquatic Center on Saturday to close out the summer pool season.

And for some, the distinction wasn’t as clear.

“These are our kids,” said Charlestown resident Shawn Minton about his three bulldogs Fiona, Maggie and Pearl. “Anytime we can get out with the girls and do something different they’re [up for it].”

He said the dogs have been swimming before — they even have life jackets — but Saturday was the first time they had attended the pooch plunge. He said his wife found out about the event and they had to come.

“We’re going, rain or shine,” Leanne Minton said when she found out about the event. She said the dogs love to swim, “even though bulldogs are known to sink.”

She added that they will definitely come back.

“I think it’s a great event, we need to do this more often,” Leanne Minton said.

While it was clear the dogs were having a good time romping through the water and chasing other dogs around the pool, the smiles on the faces of the owners were just as apparent.

Monya Turner, of Clarksville, brought her golden retriever Simba to the pool. She said she didn’t know about the event until this year and brought her dog for the first time “just to have a good time.”

Along with her husband Ken, they kept careful watch of their pooch chasing, and being chased, by an adoptable dog from Southern Indiana Animal Rescue, which was also at the event for the first time. The two adoptable dogs, and a third that arrived later, were fostered out from Jeffersonville’s J.B. Ogle Animal Shelter, which also had a presence at the event.

Watching Simba and his cohort hop in and out of the pool and run circles around the complex earned the pair a number of hearty laughs.

“They are very entertaining,” Turner said.

RUNNING OF THE GOLDFISH

Before the dogs arrived, 400 goldfish were let loose in the kiddie pool and about 75 children followed, scooping up the new pets in plastic cups.

Nikki Dillon, director of aquatics and programs for the Jeffersonville Aquatic Center, said although the Running of the Goldfish was only in its third year, the idea goes back to her childhood. She said that when she was a kid they had the same event in Clarksville and she wanted to bring it to Jeffersonville.

“It’s the third year for it and it gets bigger and bigger every year,” Dillon said. “It’s more fun to watch than to catch the fish, I think.”

Heather Gray agreed.

“It was hilarious,” she said.

Gray brought her son Alex, 5, and her niece Lillian Cox, 8, to the running of the goldfish Saturday. She said she found out about the event online and drove the kids over from Mt. Washington, Ky.

“My son loves fish [and] it was just something fun to do,” she said.

Lillian and Alex added it was fun, but not easy.

“They were too fast,” Lillian said as she held a plastic bag with three fish inside.

“I caught three,” Alex said gripping the bags tightly that held his goldfish. “Two small ones and three big ones. The small ones were way faster than the big ones. We had to be real sneaky.”

Betsy Hutchins of Clarksville brought her grandkids to the pool and watched as Kyle Hutchins, 9, tried to catch a few goldfish.

“It was the last way into the pool [this year],” she said. “I just thought it would be cool; it’s a good activity for him. Apparently, it’s not as easy as it looks,” she said just as Kyle snatched his second catch of the day.