Golfers in the Edmonton area had a special tee time over the weekend that let them bring their dogs along.
The Ranch Golf and Country Club made an exception Saturday to allow dogs on their golf course for the first time.
“It’s a pretty cool thing,” said Adam Wisser, front of house manager. “A lot of the staff have dogs and some of the staff are playing with their pets out here as well.
“A round of golf is a good walk spoiled by the game, but now you can take your dog for a walk while playing the game.”
Dogs could only join their owners for tee times after 5 p.m. and had to remain on a leash at all times.
“It’s something different,” golfer Kevin Kyle said. “We’ve always wanted to take her, so now we finally get the opportunity.
“She’s always sad when we leave her to go.”
Kyle added that his dog Mika was happy to share in the experience this time.
Champion Petfoods was on hand to help mark the special occasion by giving dogs gift bags.
“When the idea came up it just made sense,” said Derek Ehlers, director of Canadian operations. “We’re having a blast.
“Everybody loves dogs, we want to pet them all. When they come in, we give them treats, see how they react to treats and just seeing people bring them out to something that the dog would never get a chance to do.”
The Ranch says it has yet to decide whether this becomes a regular occurrence at the course.
“We don’t know right now,” Wisser said. “We’ll discuss the positives and negatives and how things went and see where we go in the future.”