Village hosts first pooch pool party

The Village of Valley Stream’s pool complex hosted a special party for dogs on Sept. 8, a day after the facility closed for the season and before the water was drained from the children’s section.

“It came together very quickly,” said Richard Infield, president of Friends of Valley Stream Dogs, the group that works with the village to use and maintain the dog park behind Village Hall. Infield said that his committee asked to have the event last year but didn’t get a definitive answer from the village.

This year, Mayor Ed Fare heard about a dog pool party that was being held at the Town of North Hempstead’s pool at Clinton G. Martin Park in New Hyde Park. He asked Deputy Clerk Richard DeAngelis and Department of Recreation Supervisor Tom Roberts to look into it, and they visited the pool to see how the event was run.

The concept seemed doable, DeAngelis said, so he contacted Infield to set it up. Mike Powers, one of Infield’s committee members, called approximately 300 phone numbers on the dog park’s members list to spread the word.

Having the dogs and their paperwork on file via the dog park made the village’s process easier than North Hempstead’s, which doesn’t have a dog park and required proof of vaccinations, according to DeAngelis.

He said that the chlorine was being allowed to dissipate from the wading pool and interactive pool in the children’s section, where the water goes to a depth of about 1 1/2 feet. The chlorine has to be gone before the water is drained, DeAngelis said, but enough was provided to keep the water safe for the dogs.

Between 50 and 60 dogs showed up for the three-hour event, which DeAngelis described as “hilarious” despite his initial uneasiness. “It was one of those things that could turn out to be really good or really” — he paused to find the right word, but gave up — “It turned out to be better than really good.”

The village plans to hold the event again next year.