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‘Bark Atah’: JCC to Host
Blessing of Dogs, Pool Party
SASHA ROGELBERG | STAFF WRITER
H arley, a 7-year-old yellow
Labrador retriever, is a Jewish
dog, at least according to his
owner Amy Foster, the chief program
offi cer of the Kaiserman JCC.

Aft er all, he’s ever-present around
the table for holidays (though perhaps
just looking for scraps); has a Jewish
mother; and, like any middle-aged
Jewish man, loves paddling laps at
the Kaiserman JCC pool (though he
only does so aft er outdoor pool season,
when his slobber won’t be a concern for
avid pool-goers).

“As part of our family, he feels
Jewish,” Foster said. “I’m sure he feels
Jewish.” Th ough the dog days of summer
have ended, Foster believes that Harley
shouldn’t be the only canine with pool
privileges this year. On Oct. 2, the
Kaiserman JCC will host Paws in the
Pool, an opportunity for area dogs,
Jewish or not, to take a dip in the
outdoor pool, which is closed for the
season. Th e JCC has clearly barked up the
right tree: Twenty dog parents have
already expressed interest, and Foster
expects a ruff estimate of 10 more
pooches to show up.

“It’s great to socialize him with other
dogs,” said Talia Kassie of her dog
Stitch, a brown and white Boston ter-
rier adopted in December 2020.

Stitch plans on showing off his shark
fi n life jacket at the event.

“I’d like to give her a new experi-
ence besides just the dog park,” Oreet
Schwartz said about Nala, her 3-year-
old rescue beagle-husky mix.

In addition to a day of swimming
and butt-sniffi ng, the dogs will be
blessed by Adath Israel on the Main
Line Rabbi Eric Yanoff .

Th e blessing Yanoff plans to give is a
play on words that requires a little bit of
Harley swimming in the
Kaiserman JCC outdoor pool
after its summer season
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