Community Corner
Grosse Pointe Family, Friends to Wash Dogs for GPAAS
Alex and Lisa Hughes will hold the 10th Annual Dog Wash Aug. 11.
It all started 10 years ago when Alex Hughes, 13, of Grosse Pointe Park and her mom, Lisa Hughes, decided to wash dogs instead of selling lemonade.
"Basically, our neighborhood has a lot of dogs," said Lisa Hughes of Grosse Pointe Park. "So we were like, 'Let's not do a lemonade stand.' We figured the dog wash."
Since its inception, the dog wash has been giving all the money it made to the Grosse Pointe Animal Adoption Society — and it continues to do so.
For the 10th year in a row, Lisa and Alex Hughes, along with other families and friends from the community, will wash dogs to raise money for GPAAS. The event will take place Sunday, Aug. 11, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the corner of Bedford and Kercheval in Grosse Pointe Park. It costs $10 per dog.
While the participants wash the dogs, they will be rewarded with food from local restaurants. Bruegger's Bagels and Hungry Howie's will donate food to support the cause. After the dog wash, participants will receive a TCBY coupon for a free cup or cone.
Last year, the dog-washers raised $1,800, $200 short of their $2,000 goal, for GPAAS. The dog wash has continued to grow each year, Lisa Hughes said.
"It's kind of a home towney, low key dog wash," Lisa Hughes said, "but the whole idea of raising money for Grosse Pointe Animal Adoption (Society) is where it's a good thing."
Promoting the event beforehand has affected the turnout. In its first year, the dog wash raised a few hundred dollars. But from posting signs and flyers around the neighborhood, word-of-mouth, social media and radio stations, more people have become aware of the dog wash. Alex and her friends, Gillian Eliot, 14, and Allie Peruski, 13, have been spreading the word around town.
"We put (the signs) out at most corners and knock on people's doors and be like, 'Hey, can we put a sign on your door?'" Alex said.
Gillian added: "Whenever we see someone on the street with a dog, we tell them all the information about it."
To wash the dogs, the dog-washers fill buckets of warm water using two hoses from the Hughes' home. Kids and teenagers rinse the dogs down, apply soap and then dry the dogs off with towels. The process takes about 3 to 5 minutes depending on the size of the dog.
"The bigger the dog, the harder to wash," Lisa Hughes said.
