Dipping isn't for the dogs

Sue Parker and her husband, Harry, weren’t chicken, although they were dressed like them New Year’s Day. Both of them made the Little Rhodie Bully Breed Club plunge at City Park. About 60 other dog lovers and advocates of the Parkers’ mission to find homes for the pit bull breed and counter the breed’s reputation for being vicious, joined them in the chilly Brush Neck Cove waters.

The plunge is the club’s largest fundraiser of the year, bringing in about $2,000 in donations. Sue Parker said many of those donating don’t take the plunge, which is fine by her. And then there are some like Roger Redleaf of Cranston, who usually does the much larger Penguin Plunge but found it easier to drive to Warwick than to South County. Being dog lovers, Roger and members of his family were aligned with the cause.

Sue Parker said as of the first of the year the club has been renamed the East Coast Bully Breed Club to more accurately reflect the range of its work and membership.

As for Sue and Harry, they both raced into the water and came out of it just as quickly. But they weren’t squawking about how cold it was…after all, the sun was shining and it was a great day to be on the beach. Plenty of dogs accompanied the plungers, although they had more sense than to go into the water.