Photos: Dogs make a splash at Santa Cruz’s annual Parks and Rex pool party fundraiser

SANTA CRUZ — Simpkins Family Swim Center in Live Oak was full of doggy paddlers Saturday afternoon, as pups of all shapes and sizes explored their aquatic skills during the 11th annual Parks and Rex pool party for dogs and families.

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The Parks and Rex event, a joint pool party hosted by Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter and Santa Cruz County Parks and Recreation, is a way for community members to come together over one last summer pool day, said Amber Rowland, Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter general manager.

Simpkins invites over 300 peoples’ furry friends into the pool for a once-a-year treat before its annual pool deep clean the next day, Rowland said. The event featured aquatic activities for kids, adults and dogs, plus a raffle that included tickets to Disneyland and a Giants vs. Dodgers game.

“Many dogs enjoy swimming, and the ocean experience is not for every dog, and so I think that’s where the idea kind of came from — that this would be an opportunity once a year for pet lovers and parks lovers to get together and kind of meet a need for some additional funding for the youth programs and for the animal shelter,” Rowland said.

Participants had a set 15-minute time limit in the warm water pool for their dogs to swim, splash through the spray zone and play with other dogs — and each session sold out. Afterwards, people could grab a whipped cream pup cup for their dogs, learn about the animal shelter’s programs and browse an array of accessories for their dogs, such as pet portraits from local watercolor artist Jae Liang.

Liang is a dog volunteer with the animal shelter, as well as a certified dog trainer, and has come to Parks and Rex for the last three years to paint live portraits of people’s dogs in about 10 minutes.

Jen Catarino came to Simpkins Family Swim Center with her aunt and uncle who brought their three border collies — Hoaka, Hoku and Panda. Their dogs are no strangers to water, Catarino said, telling a story about how Panda jumped into the pool unprompted at a friend’s house.

When Nancy Kahumoku, Catarino’s aunt, visited California from Maui last year, she heard about the Parks and Rex event and knew she had to find a way to attend.

“I saw it last year when we were just visiting, and I said, ‘Oh, I want to be there,’” Kahumoku said. “So I thought, ‘By golly, I’m going to be at Parks and Rex this year.’”

She and her husband, slack key guitarist George Kahumoku, moved to the mainland from Maui in 2025 and had to ship Hoaka, Hoku and Panda to Los Angeles, where they road-tripped the dogs up to Santa Cruz County.

Though the Kahumokus came to the event from Santa Cruz County, several attendees traveled from miles away to give their pups the chance to play in the pool.

Kat Harrington came to Simpkins from San Leandro in Alameda County with her husky shepherd, Koda.

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Koda was the first dog to venture into the pool in his session, Harrington said. Koda loves the water, and the two went to the beach after the pool party, but it was his first time in a pool, and she was not sure how he would react.

Harrington ended up jumping into the pool with Koda in her jeans to play with him.

“Anything for him,” she said, adding that she travels to events like Parks and Rex with Koda frequently.

Some dogs like Koda ventured into the water with nothing but their fur and their spirit, while other pet parents opted to dress their dogs in flotation vests for added safety.

Mercede Ebrahimi brought Siberian husky Leo to the Parks and Rex event from San Jose for his first pool experience.

Leo was strapped into a flotation vest that looked like a shark as he ran back and forth across the pool deck, chomping at the water spouting out of the spray zone and playing with a corgi in goggles.

Funds raised from ticket sales and raffle entries for prize packages were split evenly between the animal shelter and the parks department, said Garrett Smart, recreation supervisor for Santa Cruz County Parks.

For the animal shelter, Rowland said, the money helps fund everything from medical care to food and cleaning supplies for the animals. She said her favorite part of the event is seeing dogs learning to trust the water and their owners.

“That’s my favorite part of it is just to watch people interact with their pets because I’ve always been fascinated by the bond between people and their animals,” Rowland said. “And it’s just on display in spades at this event.”

For the parks department, Smart said the funds raised from the event go toward its youth recreation programs.

“We’re both county departments, so on one hand, it’s just a fun thing for us to always offer the community — their clientele, the pupperoonies, and ours, just people that love to utilize the pool in this way,” Smart said. “And if we stopped doing it, people would be very upset, I fear.”

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