DES PERES, Mo. – The leashes were not on for long at The Lodge Aquatic Center in Des Peres, as dogs of all shapes and sizes took to the outdoor pool.

“It’s a lot of fun to see the dogs get in,” said Dylan Thomas, Lodge Des Peres.

Every year, area pools end the summer pool season with a doggy swim filled with tennis balls, dog floaties, and the occasional uncontrollable bark of joy.

“After we close it up, we have the dogs come in for an enjoyable swim,” Thomas said.

It was $10 per dog parent at The Lodge Outdoor Pool Tuesday. There were two sessions, each 45 minutes long, full of happy dogs ready for their closeup with wagging tails. Destiny Brown brought both her dogs to the swim.

“We have a husky and he is swimming back and forth, and our other dog has no interest in the water, so he’s just playing outside of it,” Brown said.

For everyone’s safety, owners needed to show their dogs’ vaccination records and since the pool’s last swim for people was yesterday, today’s swim was exclusively for the pooches.

“The people enjoy it and the staff enjoy it,” Thomas said.