What happens when you add 4 pools + 300 dogs? You get a big, hairy, splashy party that Calgary, Canada calls Dog Day. The town pools need cleaned at the end of summer, so why not let dogs splash around in there first? People pay to let their doggies paddle, and that money helps other rescued animals. And grown-ups and kids can swim with the hounds, too, if you don’t care whether the water is clean…
Wee ones: What numbers would you say to count your doggie’s 4 paws?
Little kids: If you and your dog both swim, how many legs do you put in the pool together? Bonus: If they hold the party on a Sunday, and it takes 3 days from then to clean up the mess, on what day are the pools clean again?
Big kids: If a family pays $24 total to bring their 6 dogs into the pool, and each dog costs $3, how much extra did the people pay to swim themselves? Bonus: If the 300 dogs split up evenly among the 4 pools, how many pooches are in each pool?
The sky’s the limit: If there are 50 legs in the pool and there are twice as many dogs as people, how many swimmers of each type are in the pool?
Answers:
Wee ones: 1, 2, 3, 4.
Little kids: 6 legs. Bonus: On Wednesday.
Big kids: Another $6, because the dogs cost $18. Bonus: 75 dogs per pool.
The sky’s the limit: 10 dogs and 5 people. The dogs and people fall into “sets ” of 2 dogs plus a person, who together have 10 legs. So if there are 50 legs total, there are 5 of these “sets,” giving us 5 x 2 = 10 dogs, and 5 people.
