An uneggspected treat for dogs

One thousand Easter eggs were hidden at Gold Park in Hillsborough this Saturday, but no children were there to find them.

This was an Easter egg hunt for dogs only, hosted by the Hillsborough Police Department.

The idea for the unique event came from the Hillsborough Police Department’s K-9 unit. The unit has two German shepherds, Vader and Viper.

Vader and Viper, like other police canines, are trained to detect narcotics, track people, search for people and help in suspect apprehension if necessary.

Cpl. Scott Foster, a K-9 handler in the unit, said the Hillsborough Police Department wanted to use the event to let the Hillsborough community know what their police canines do for the unit on a daily basis.

“Pretty much every day for our dogs is an Easter egg hunt,” Foster said.

“They’re searching for stuff to get a treat or a reward.”

This is the second Easter egg hunt for dogs hosted by the police department.

“We kind of tried it out last year to see how it would go over,” Foster said.

“It was such a huge success; we decided to do it not only this year, but we’re going to try to make it an annual event.”

At Saturday’s event, there were 1,000 eggs filled with dog treats in two separate fields.

Some of the hidden Easter eggs had stickers on them. The dog owners could trade in these eggs for prizes provided by Paws at the Corner, a pet store located in downtown Hillsborough.

Lisa Wells, one of the owners of Paws at the Corner, said she was thankful for the opportunity to be a part of the event.

“It’s a great turnout,” Wells said.

“I love that they’re including the dogs because there’s not a lot of events that you can bring dogs to.”

Jane and Kevin McMullen brought their two black Lab mixes, Hobbes and Star, to the egg hunt.

They attended the Easter egg hunt last year and said they were glad it was happening again.

“It’s just great to come out to Gold Park,” Jane McMullen said. “I love learning about the police dogs.”

Jackie Blackwell attended the Easter event with her dog, Millie, for their usual Saturday morning walk.

Blackwell said when she found out the Easter egg hunt was for dogs, she was surprised and decided to try it out.

“We’ve never heard of an Easter egg hunt for dogs, and we thought, why not?” Blackwell said.

First, second and third place prizes were awarded to the dogs who found the most hidden Easter eggs in the park.

The event also awarded a prize to the dog with the best costume from the bonnet costume contest.

@janna_childers

city@dailytarheel.com