PAWLEY’S ISLAND, SC (WBTW) – Forget playing fetch in the park.
Benji’s Bed and Breakfast, a kennel in Pawley’s Island, wants you to get your dog on the diving board this summer.
“This is something they get pleasure out of- the water,” owner Charlotte Troy said. “It’s a game. And once they get into it, they want to continue.”
Benji’s latest addition is a deck-like built around a rectangular above-ground swimming pool. It’s set up to give dogs a space to get up to full speed and then jump into the pool.
Troy says her doggie diving board is the only one like it around, and pet owners are already taking advantage of it.
“There is no pool like this in the Grand Strand,” she said. “Now that people know we’re here, they’ll call up and say, ‘Can we rent your pool for the day? Because we want our 20 dogs that do jump to get lessons. ‘”
Troy says that her facility is the perfect place to train a dog in diving. Once they’re good enough, she says, owners may opt to enter their pup in a contest.
She hopes that by the time next summer rolls around, she will be able to be the one to host competitions.
But diving isn’t just fun and games.
Troy says it is also a form of therapy for dogs, particularly for handicapped ones.
“A lot of dogs need hydrotherapy; this is great hydrotherapy,” Troy said. “This will help the muscles of the legs, maybe get him moving again. And I’m sure it will.”
Troy says that dog owners can simply give Benji’s a call if they are interested in enrolling their pet in diving lessons.
“When you watch them here jumping, they have big smiles on their face and they just can’t wait to jump in the water,” she said. It’s fun to watch.”
