After so much rain this spring and into early summer — and the fact that our agility fields stayed so green until mid-July — it was a shock that so many cracks started appearing. . .and quickly. The cracks got so large there was concern that both dogs and owners were at risk of injury if they were to trip and fall. Debbie worked diligently before and during each class to try to fill the cracks with a mixture of top soil and shavings. It seemed the job was never-ending, though, as the cracks grew faster than Debbie could fill them.
On Friday, August 28th, through the kindness of PAWSter Sherry McCallum and her husband, Bill, a front-loader was rented and two loads of dirt & shavings were delivered. While Sherry & Debbie moved agility obstacles and other equipment off the fields, Bill used a pick-ax and the tractor to dig up rocks that had been sticking up out of the ground but co
uld not be otherwise removed because they were so
large and so deep.
Several PAWSters gave up their Saturday to come help rake the areas where Bill dropped dirt & shavings. During some downtime while waiting for another load of dirt to be delivered, Bill took to trimming some of the trees in the field, and everyone pitched in to pull the branches to the dumpster and bag the dead grass. Although we had clouds and a nice breeze, water breaks were a necessity as everyone worked hard to try to fill in and cover the cracks that plagued the agility fields.
Many thanks to PAWSters Barb Bristol, Chris Castelli, Freda Watson, Gayle & Bill Fox, Linda Shipp, and Sue Baird for all the help with raking, dragging, and moving agility equipment. Many, many thanks to Sherry & Bill McCallum for their immense generosity, not only for taking care of getting the tractor and dirt, but also for the endless amount of hard work they put into helping get the agility fields back into good training condition.