Dog Swim Draws Area Pooches to Maplewood Pool

On Friday, about 20 dogs and their owners braved the rainy weather to gather at the for the city's eighth annual dog swim.

(Want more photos? A photo gallery of 25 images is available on the Maplewood-Brentwood Patch Facebook page.)

Pooches of all sizes swam through the water and raced beside the pool to fetch tennis balls and toy ropes. While some owners jumped in the water too, most preferred to stay dry underneath poolside umbrellas.

"As long as we stay dry, it doesn't matter how wet they get," said David LePee, a Des Peres resident who brought his yellow lab Sophie to the swim.

His daughter Liz LePee, from Richmond Heights, brought her chocolate lab Bella to the event, too. The two dogs jumped through the water and were quick to share their damp coats with bystanders (and quick to lick camera lenses too, I might add!).

On the other side of the pool, two mixed-breed dogs named Gavin and Gus watched one of their owners, Jason Wolaver from South County, wade through the water.

He finally enticed Gus to jump in, but Gavin stayed on the edge and simply watched.

The dog swim also continued on Saturday.

(See photos from last year's dog swim: )