by Ira Porter

Scrub-a-dub-dub, all dogs in the tub

Dogtopia supports military dogs by washing local pooches

Like a infant baby squirming to keep from getting his face wiped, Sam moved his head from side to side, depending on where Helen Jones was trying to dry him off.

The 95-pound, eight-year-old golden retriever climbed down a stepladder from a tub, his tongue hanging from his mouth, and shook, sending a cool mist across the room.

When it was time to have his furry coat brushed, Sam was still again.

"He's a water dog. He doesn't mind it," said Sam's owner Don Swadey of Claymont. Swadey brought Sam and his playmate, Angie, a golden retriever that Swadey rescued from a breeding house in New York, to Dogtopia in Fairfax for a wash Sunday.

Dogtopia, a full-service dog day care and spa that Jones owns, will celebrate its first year of operation in September. Sunday was its first charity dog wash to support military dogs.

"We're happy to have an opportunity to support the troops. We support anyone overseas, but we are supporting the dogs in this case," said Don Jones, Helen's husband, who helped escort dogs from the playroom to the washroom in the back.

Like his wife, he had damp clothing by the time the day was over.

From 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday, Dogtopia opened its doors to regular customers and walk-ins who wanted to have their dogs washed. They provided dog biscuits and water for the animals and donuts for patient owners who waited amongst the playful and restless group of canines.

Helen Jones said that all of the money collected from Sunday's operation would be sent along with care packages for military dogs overseas.

Barry Trexler said his two dogs, Shep, a big, black Austrian shepherd mix, and Niblets, a tiny, brownish Cairn terrier, were in need of a bath after a 2,800-mile drive from southern California to Delaware that ended Saturday.

"I'm staying at a hotel down the street. I took the dogs out for a walk and I saw the sign for this," said Trexler, who moved to Delaware with his family for a new job.

Shep and Niblets, he said, don't like getting washed, although they get baths weekly.

And just how long did he think his dogs would stay clean? "A day or so."

Max, a Cavalier King Charles spaniel, is a regular at Dogtopia.

"They say he likes it better here," said his owner, Patricia Lewis of Wilmington. "At home, if he sees the bathtub getting filled up and he doesn't see anyone getting in it, then he knows what time it is. He takes off."

Wilson said she wouldn't have missed a chance to support a worthy cause. A 25-year-veteran of law enforcement, Wilson is a deputy attorney general under state Attorney General Beau Biden, who is stationed in Iraq.

"We're big supporters of the military," Wilson said of her family. "I think this is a great idea."

© Wilmington News Journal 2009