The glorious day in which Seattle U opens up the Union Green after a long, wet winter is nearly unforgettable.

The Union Green, known as the Dog Park by most students, becomes a hotspot for students and canines alike once the sun finally shows itself. Dropping by the Dog Park is one of those activities in which you actually get excited about being sunburnt in a matter of minutes, as you’re surrounded by plenty of pooches while soaking up the sunshine.

I set out to get to know a few of the Dog Park’s frequent non-human visitors, and not only found out which dogs are from Montana and Georgia, but also found a couple of doggos who have more Instagram followers than I do.

Frolicking underneath a picnic bench is where you’re most likely to find adopted siblings Stretch and Ruby. Both have a sweet, quiet demeanor, but their owner said that Ruby secretly enjoys digging up worms and eating them.

Stretch
Seven years old

“He’s blind now, but he used to be able to disappear for hours,” his owner said. “He used to be like a cat, where he would wander for hours at a time and then find his way back home. He followed somebody that wasn’t me, thinking it was me, all the way across campus and then they called me. Since then he’s been on a shorter leash.”

Ruby
Nine years old

Ruby looked up sparingly as she dug for worms.

“She has such good smell that even if I’ve taken the cushions off of the couch and she still smells that there’s something in the couch, I know there’s something in the couch,” her owner said. “I eventually find what’s in the couch. One of her toys falls in there sometimes, or Stretch eats half of his treat and the other half falls in there… she digs in it and lets me know it’s there. She barks and then digs.”

A nearby friend added, “She ate a hole in my bag yesterday because I had treats in my bag!”

Popular pups at the Dog Park are Pan the Australian Shepherd and Helo the Mutt. This will be Helo’s fourth summer at the Dog Park, and Pan has been coming since he was just eight weeks old. Their owner, Rob, recounted last summer when crowds of almost 20 people would swarm Pan, who was then just a few months old.

“He was so small sometimes I wouldn’t be able to see him,” Rob said. “I was worried someone would steal him!”

Pan
One year and four months old

“Pan is from the God of herding and rustic music and chaos,” his owner said while laughing. “I got him from a ranch outside of Yellowstone. My thought was, ‘Gosh, Helo runs a lot so I’ve got to get another dog that will tire him out,’ cause he was like two years old at the time and he was very hyperactive. From the first day I got Pan he’s been biting his heels the entire time. So I did my job, maybe a little bit too well because Pan drives Helo crazy.”

Helo
Will be three years old on May 25 (Happy early birthday Helo!)

“The name Helo is from Battlestar Galatica,” his owner told. “He’s the only character in the show that stays good throughout the entire show, and he’s handsome. I got him from a rescue in northern Georgia, and I think he’s a mutt between some sort of hunting hound and then most likely a lab. His hair is a lot different and he does have some markings that are brown by his legs, so I think maybe he’s a brown lab mixed with a tall hunting hound.”

Last but not least, I ran into a purebred Corgi named Kygo. His owner shared that he’s named after the EDM artist, and after some more pestering, I learned that Kygo has an Instagram with over 5,000 followers.

His owner said to follow him. So if you so choose, you can find him @kygo.thecorgi.

Kygo
10 months old

Kygo

“I don’t know how to describe him,” said his owner Ted. “He’s just a good boy.”

Anna may be reached at
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