Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Ted and Judy Sim walk their Australian Shepherd, Ellie Mae, during the Hound Dog Hike on Sunday morning in Ironwood. The Sims have participated several times, and enjoy taking their 11 year-old dog out on the Miners Memorial Heritage Park trails.
By MEGAN HUGHES
Ironwood - Locals gathered with their furry friends on Sunday morning to participate in the 10th annual Hound Dog Hike on the Miner Memorial Park Heritage Park trails in Ironwood. The event, which celebrated its 10th hike in 11 years, saw over a dozen canine participants, joined by one or more owners.
According to HOPE Animal Shelter treasurer Colleen Sachs, early registration was down this year compared to two years ago, but some opted to register the day of the event, which ran from 9 a.m. to noon.
HOPE President Kay Fiene was quite excited for the event, as she both volunteered and participated in the event. "The money raised goes to maintaining the park," said Fiene.
The event benefited the Iron King Dog dog park in the MMHP, and is a collaboration among the HOPE, the Friends of the MMHP and the city of Ironwood.
"We hope to make improvements to the park as well as maintain it," said Sachs. She hopes that in the next few years that they will be able to incorporate some agility training items into the park. Some of the maintenance costs go toward repair and general work within the dog park, including filling in a mud pit with gravel and repairing the fences, which required the usage of rented equipment.
"We do this in conjunction with the Friends of the Miner Memorial Park. They go out and mark the trails for us," said Sachs as she explained the loops this year, including parts of the Aurora and Pabst loops.
Participants were excited as they waited for the event to kick off. Ted and Judy Sim brought their Australian shepherd, Ellie Mae, to the event.
"We have done this walk three times," said Judy Sim. "She (Ellie Mae) has lots of energy, she's our herding dog. She's 11 years old, and not young anymore, but she's still in good condition." The Sims were planning on walking the Pabst loop.
Another trio participating this year included Tina Romosz, her son Shayne, 12, and their dog, Flash. "This is our first year," said Tina Romosz. "We are shooting for the long one. We love to hike."
One participant was jogging her dog around the park as they greeted the other dogs. Brandi Reed and her dog, Arthur "Art," were quite excited to begin. "I had signed up to do this the last three years, and I've never been able to do it."
