Dr. Marlow Ball’s methods caught my eye.
Ball believes deeply in in the importance of pain management and early intervention, a methodology she’s held to over her six years as a small animal veterinarian. She is all about fear-free treatment, which I love as a positive reinforcement dog trainer.
She’d also opened her clinic, SOMA Animal Clinic and House Calls, in the SoMa area, which captured my attention.
Nobody really knows where SoMa is, it would seem, even long-term Little Rock residents. It’s where KABF 88.3 FM resides. And Loblolly. And the Esse Purse Museum, which is much more than JUST a purse museum.
There’s also The Bernice Garden, a cute little area in the middle of SoMa. Ball had her eye on the location for awhile. The Bernice Garden often features a farmer’s market, which is dog- and family-friendly.
Ball decided she wanted to do an event at the garden focused solely on our furry friends. “I’ve been wanting to work with the market for two years now,” Ball explained. “It’s so much fun, and it’s already like a dog party.”
Additionally, Ball wanted to give back to the community by supporting Arkansans for Animals, a local nonprofit that offers low cost spay and neuter services. “They do such important work,” Ball said. “We’ve never going to get on top of our overpopulation problem if we don’t get on top of spay and neuter.”
She developed the first annual Dog Days of Summer, a dog- and family-friendly event at the Bernice Gardens on June 8 from 11 am to 3 pm.
The day will be all about fun, with local vendors, pupsicles, brothy snow cones, face painting stations, and splash pads for both dogs and kids. Local music will set the tone, and Ball will give a dog safety talk at 1:45 pm followed by a dog trick contest at 2 pm.
I was all in. I’ll have a booth there, and I’ve been helping out with some marketing. Little Rock has some amazing dog-friendly events, and this was perfect for a little-known neighborhood that needed its own dog adventure.
Got questions? Contact me, your friendly Little Rock dog trainer, at telltaildog@gmail.com or Dr. Marlow Ball at somaanimalclinic@gmail.com. We hope to see you there!
