BALTIMORE, April 25, 2011 — Located just up the street from each other, Baltimore has two premiere swim clubs. The first, Meadowbrook, is internationally iconic Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps’ training facility.
The other is a swim club that operates in the summer for dogs, Doggie Day Care. Doggie Day Care is owned by Dr. Kim Hammond, veternarian to the stars.
Dr. Hammond’s extensive involvement in the motion picture industry includes his work on “Pirates of the Caribbean I, II, and III,” ” Under Dog,” “Cat Woman,” “Cats and Dogs,” Willard II,” “Runaway Bride,” “The Green Mile,” “Stuart Little,” “All the Pretty Horses,” “Avalon,” “Accidental Tourist,” and “Her Alibi.”
In addition to his work with Boone Narr and Animals for Hollywood, Birds and Animals Unlimited, Dr. Hammond worked with directors Garry Marshall and Ellen Schwartz, and Academy Award-winning directors Barry Levinson and Billy Bob Thornton.
Meadowbrook has an astounding five pools: an indoor professional training pool, an indoor three feet deep warm water therapy pool, an indoor hot tub, an outdoor training pool and outdoor children’s pool.
They offer many different fitness classes, including all levels of swimming classes — even Master level. The classes are free to members, but also open to non-members. The neat part is, and good for budgeting purposes, non-members can pay for as many, or as few as he/she chooses.
The facilities aren’t glamorous, but they received a fresh coat of paint in recent years, and no longer resemble a Soviet-era training camp. There are some exercise machines upstairs, with glass walls overlooking the indoor pools.
With Doggie Day Care/Falls Road Animal Hospital, the requirements are a little more stringent. Dogs must be vaccinated DHPP and Rabies every 3 years. They will also need vaccinations for Leptosporosis, Bordatella and Canine Influenza (H3N8) annually.
In addition, dogs should have a fecal parasite exam once a year and be on heartworm, flea and tick prevention year-round. Puppies must be at least 16 weeks old. All dogs should be spayed or neutered by 6 months.
Swim club is a wading pool for dogs, open in the summer only. Day, weekly, and monthly memberships are available.
It takes a Renaissance woman to cover the cool, shocking, tasty, and thought- provoking things in the Baltimore region and beyond. Tamar is a Kentucky Colonel, a beauty pageant winner, and has managed several Southern rock and alt-country bands. She also has a column online, as well as articles of interest to the military. Read more Out and About Baltimore in The Washington Times Communities.
-cl 4/25/11
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