Dog Dayz

Dog Dayz Event on Hiatus  

For more than a decade, Boulder Parks and Recreation (BPR) closes Scott Carpenter Pool (SCP) to human use and opens the water up for dogs to enjoy during the last days of the summer season. Currently, SCP is closed to accommodate construction of the pool enhancement project. As the facility is closed, BPR staff have determined the need to place the popular Dog Dayz on hiatus. 

This decision was not an easy one, and staff considered a number of factors before deciding it was not feasible to relocate the event to the city’s alternate outdoor aquatic facility, Spruce Pool. There are two primary reasons that Spruce Pool is not a suitable site to host Dog Dayz: 

• Impact to the neighborhood  
  Spruce Pool’s location is not conducive to the large crowds Dog Dayz draws, nor is it a compatible use with the neighborhood. Parking at the pool or in the surrounding neighborhood is limited. In the past, neighbors have expressed concerns about noise and traffic which pool visitors bring to the site; this event would bring additional, and different, traffic to the site and potentially compound the issues. Finally, staff considered potential impacts to the neighboring Whittier International Elementary School which is in session during the Dog Dayz’s timeframe.  
   
• The pool’s footprint and capacity 
  Spruce Pool is not designed to accommodate safely the number of participants and their dogs who typically attend the event. For example, Spruce Pool does not have a large enough footprint to safely accommodate the regular crowds that attend Dog Dayz nor does it have space for the accompanying Dog Dayz Expo event which accounts for nearly half of the overall event revenue.  Also, the pool does not contain a ramp for the dogs to enter or exit the pool. 

Staff appreciates that this decision may be disappointing to the community’s many furry friends but looks forward to the new pool and other pet-friendly opportunities in the future.