For 7-year-old Merlin, a golden retriever from Upper St. Clair, the only thing he wanted to do was to be in the water and chase the ball.

Not just any ball, though. Not random fluorescent green tennis balls that were a dime a dozen Monday at the Dormont Pool Doggy Dip.

It had to be his ball. Red and yellow. And only his.

But 1 1/2-year-old Griffin, another golden from Mt. Lebanon, had other ideas.

Each time Kristy Loeffert threw Merlin's ball into the deep end of the pool, Griffin, with designs on stealing anything in his sight, snatched the ball away.

"He collects everything -- whatever he finds," said David Fusco, Griffin's slightly embarrassed owner, as he watched his dog snatch someone else's stick out of the water. "He goes for anything he can get his hands on."

"But he shares," he added, as Griffin swam to the side carrying both the stick and the ball. "He thinks they're common toys."

Griffin and Merlin were just two of nearly 300 dogs that got to swim Monday evening in the Dormont Pool for the unofficial last day of summer Doggy Dip.

A joint fundraiser between Friends of the Dormont Pool and the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society, the event is in its second year.

Dogs of all shapes, sizes and breeds raced inside the chain-link fence surrounding the pool, barking and chasing, nipping and sniffing.

The event was divided into two sessions -- one for dogs weighing less than 30 pounds, and one for dogs heavier than that, said Gretchen Fieser, director of marketing for the humane society.

"We wanted to make sure the smaller dogs had a chance for fun without being intimidated by the large."

For some of the dogs, just the water was enough to provide intimidation.

Oswald, a pleasant Labradoodle with a penchant for giving kisses, raced inside the rail and immediately dove into the water on the deep side. He quickly got out and wouldn't go back in past his ankles.

"He got scared, we think," said owner Adrienne Tolentino of Dormont.

Oswald spent a lot of time on the edge of the pool, trying to steal the toys of the others as they came out -- and barking at them when they retrieved his stick.

Darcy, a 2-year-old brindle Lab mix from Upper St. Clair, wouldn't chase her ball into the water after a while unless her owner, Andy Tomiczek, 16, pounced into the water first.

"I guess she's a little bit tired," he said. "She needs a little motivation."

"She needs it to be a competition," added Andy's dad, Paul Tomiczek.

Caitlin Ewing, a lifeguard at the pool, said guarding children is much easier than protecting dogs.

"They don't listen," the 16-year-old said of the dogs. "Kids don't really listen either, but at least they understand what you're saying: 'Get off the wall. Don't do that.' "

Caitlin didn't have to save anybody Monday evening, but she was ready, if needed.

"[The dogs] know their limits, and they usually stick to them," she said.

In the deep end, about 30 dogs were in the water at one time, Caitlin said.

The most impressive, she added, was a Lab carrying three balls at once.

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