Students Take 'Furry' Twist on Car Wash Fundraiser Model

By Riley Bandy of Dirty Dogs

Torrey Pines High School students worked with a local dog wash to raise more than $400 for their student newspaper in a new spin on the car wash fundraiser model... a dog wash. Twelve students held the wash at family-owned Dirty Dogs with a large percentage of the proceeds going to the Torrey Pines newspaper, the Falconer.

The event took place on Saturday, March 23 at Dirty Dogs in Torrey Hills where the students were first educated about washing dogs and then supervised by the professional washing staff at Dirty Dogs. The students, led by staff reporter, Natalie Dunn, took over the self-serve tubs and offered dog baths to the community. The students washed more than 20 dogs in just a few hours.

“It was a blast hosting the fundraiser for the Torrey Pines Falconer. The students were gung-hoe to wash all kinds of dogs and they showed amazing attention to detail especially with drying dogs, which on a long-haired dog, can take a long time,” said Riley Bandy, manager at Dirty Dogs. “The best part for us is seeing kids who are timid while washing their first dog, develop confidence working with the animals. By the end of the event, they were comfortable and challenging themselves to wash larger, more time-intensive breeds.”

The students worked with Dirty Dogs to create a flyer and get the word out about the event. They also visited local dog parks and beaches to spread the news and let people know about the charitable wash. “The dog wash was a lot of fun,” said Torrey Pines student Natalie Dunn. “I’ve washed my dog plenty of times but many of the other kids had never washed a dog before… by the end we were all pretty good at it and we raised a lot of money at the same time.”