Ruff Waters

6 minutes
Debbie Price, who owns The Water Bark with her husband Dan, helps a client acclimate to the therapy pool. Photo by Lori Duckworth

Debbie Price, who owns The Water Bark with her husband Dan, helps a client acclimate to the therapy pool. Photo by Lori Duckworth

Although Pig the pit bull couldn’t speak, the rescuers at Oklahoma City Animal Welfare could read her story of misery through the scars all over her small black-and-white body when she arrived in spring 2015.

“We suspect she was used in dogfighting,” says owner Mandy James. “She has a big scar on her leg from when they tied her up so she couldn’t get away. And she also had a lot of medical issues, like ringworm and skin allergies.”

One of Pig’s ankles also was broken and not allowed to heal properly, so she had some difficulty walking. James was familiar with special needs dogs, so she adopted the pit mix. Pig was friendly and outgoing, but James became concerned that her dog wasn’t as active as she should be.

“The strain on her leg puts unnecessary pressure on her spine, so she was having a lot of back pain,” she says. “She wasn’t doing well at all. She didn’t want to do much or even walk around the house.”

A friend stumbled across a Facebook post for a new indoor swimming facility specifically for canines in Oklahoma City called The Water Bark, so James decided to give it a try.

“As far as I know, Pig had never been in a pool before,” she says. “But that first time they took her into the water with her life jacket on, Debbie was holding her, which made her feel safe, and her whole body just relaxed. The weightlessness of the salt water relieved the pressure on her joints. She loved it immediately. ”

Dan and Debbie Price, who describe themselves as dog people, were inspired to open The Water Bark in order to help pups like Pig and their late black Labrador Buddy.

“He lived for the water,” Debbie says. “He developed arthritis later in life, and the vet said the best thing for that was swimming. During the summer, that’s fine, but during the winter, we wondered where we could go. The vet wasn’t aware of any place in Oklahoma that offered indoor swimming.”

So after Buddy passed away, Debbie went to a training institute in Florida to learn how to handle dogs in the water and work with their injuries. In July 2018, the Prices opened their 6,000-square-foot facility with a play area, private drying rooms, and two heated saltwater pools—one dedicated to therapy and one for recreational swimming.

caption:All of The Water Bark’s therapy clients—including Pig, here with Debbie Price—must be referred by a veterinarian.Photo by Lori Duckworth

The latter mostly is geared toward dogs who need the exercise to lose weight, get rid of excess energy, or just play around in the water because they love to. The first time dogs swim at The Water Bark, Debbie or Dan get into the water, hold them, and speak soothingly to show that the water is safe. Once a dog is comfortable, he or she can play fetch, run up the ramp and jump back into the pool, or just splash around to its heart’s content. A single thirty-minute session is usually enough to tire even the most energetic of pooches.

But to elderly, arthritic, or injured pups like Pig, the therapy pool is where the real magic happens.

“I take them down to the end of the pool carrying them, and then I just let them swim,” Debbie says. “The first swim is mostly to watch their gait, to see what they’re favoring or not favoring. Then I carry them back, talk to them, massage them, help control their breathing, hold, and relax them. Some dogs, I can just float the whole time and work their muscles without them even knowing that they’re working. Some of the humans ask if they can get in too, but it’s just for the dogs. Who wouldn’t want to be carried and massaged in warm water?”

Although Pig only goes for about an hour a week, these short sessions have made a huge difference in her quality of life.
“It’s really helped at home, building up her strength,” James says. “She’s more active and wants to run and play around. She’s happier.”

That’s what the Prices try to do first and foremost: give animals like Pig just a fraction of the happiness they inspire in their human companions.

The Water Bark offers individual sessions, swim packages, and pool parties. 3800 North Cromwell Avenue in Oklahoma City, (405) 949-5440 or thewaterbarkokc.com.

Written By
Karlie Ybarra

Managing editor Karlie Ybarra loves to explore her home state—and meet many of its animal citizens—any chance she gets.

Karlie Ybarra