A cavalry of dogs and dog owners stared down the impending rain on Saturday, Oct. 3 in Marine Park at the Brooklyn Canarsie Lions’ annual “Doggie Olympics” fundraiser Helped by a bevy of local merchants, community organizations, elected officials and the 69th Police Precinct Youth Explorers, the Canarsie-based service club raised about $1,700. Of that amount, $1,000 will be donated to Vision Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired, with the remaining net proceeds going toward a Canarsie public school project that will be selected from the website DonorsChoose.org.

Twenty-three dogs and their owners participated in 22 events; some of the more lighthearted contests were Best Dressed Dog, Doggie/Owner Dance, and Best Walk down the Catwalk. Yet the lighthearted day produced a dramatic finish as two returning favorites jockeyed back and forth down to the wire. In the end, Daisy – last year’s overall Olympic silver medalist and the friendliest pit bull you’ll ever meet – edged out Casey, a speedy, mid-sized brown and white collie, by a score of 190 to 170 to take the gold. Coming in third to take the bronze was a lovable rottweiler named Jude, with a score of 110.

MARINE PARK -- To many, Brooklyn means urban life, a small step from the bustle of Manhattan and a place where busy avenues and 24-hour mini-markets meet tree-canopied streets and rural-inspired homes. Yet for organizations like the Salt Marsh Alliance, a non-profit of volunteers dedicated to preserving and promoting Marine Park’s Nature Center, Brooklyn is a place of natural beauty, an ecologically developed marshland right outside our window.