Dogs splashed and played in Shields Park Pool on Saturday, while on the deck, their owners and families splashed and played in the rain during the first Summer Dog Splash fundraiser.

Suzanne Steltenpohl, an organizer for the event and owner of K9 Campers in Seymour, was happy with the outcome of the event despite low turnout created by less than ideal weather.

“I think it was really good for a first-time event, especially given the bad weather,” she said.

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Between 25 and 30 families with dogs showed up throughout the course of the day, earning the Jackson County Dog Shelter building fund an additional $150 toward its $200,000 goal.

The money from this fundraiser was added to the previous fundraising efforts, which now total $52,000.

Debbie Hackman, who helped organized the event, said the new dog shelter building is a much-needed facility for the county.

“Red Sky Rescue does a lot, but that was only meant as a temporary place,” Hackman said of the dog shelter near Medora.

“… and Seymour has the humane society, but that’s focused on Seymour,” she said.

The new dog shelter building will be built near the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department in Brownstown on land the county already owns. The county’s animal control officer starts and ends his day at the sheriff’s department.

When the shelter is complete, inmates would be assigned to it and work with the dogs.

Though the fundraiser fell short of its $1,000 goal, neither Steltenpohl nor Hackman said they are going to let that stop them from continuing the fundraising process.

“Any chance I have to help make that dream a reality, I’ll be there,” Steltenpohl said of helping with fundraising events.

Though she currently didn’t have any definitive fundraiser plans other than the next Fur Ball, Steltenpohl said she and others are always “bouncing around ideas” for fundraisers to help reach the goal.

“Basically, once it’s built, the county has the ability to maintain it. We just need to get it built,” Hackman said.

In addition to the fundraisers locally, anyone interested in donating can go to the group’s GoFundMe page at gofundme.com/pfc6z8.