Dogs ruled the pool Saturday at Desert Breeze in Las Vegas

Clark County’s pool season ended with a splash Saturday afternoon in the southwest valley.

But it wasn’t children who did the splashing, and the sound of bodies meeting water was accompanied by barks, not playful shouting.

As “Who Let the Dogs Out” played loudly from poolside speakers, about 260 canines of all ages, sizes and breeds took to the water starting at 8 a.m. Saturday at Desert Breeze Aquatic Center to close out the county’s pool season.

The 12th annual Dog Daze of Summer was split into two sessions: Dogs under 50 pounds ruled the pool from 8 to 9:15 a.m. before dogs weighing more than 50 pounds took over from 9:45 to 11 a.m.

The smallest of the small dog group, a deer head Chihuahua named Timmy, weighed in at 3 pounds and won the event’s “shortest dog” title, measuring 8 inches tall. Timmy’s owners, Roland and Tracy Paz, found him on a golf course near Sunrise Mountain about a year-and-a-half ago. The couple posted “found dog” fliers but never heard from his previous owner.

“He’s eaten four 5-pound bags of dog food since we found him,” said Roland Paz, holding the tote bag his dog won in the contest. Timmy had hopped into the bag and was nestled between stuffed toys, some bigger than him. “His poop is the size of Tootsie Rolls!”

After the small dogs were ushered out of the pool and event employees had scrubbed the pool deck, dogs with bigger stature bounded through the gates and into the water. (Lifeguards and county employees were on hand to ensure only dogs entered the pool and to clean up any “accidents.”)

Titus, a tan, 130-pound Mastiff, who was named the event’s tallest dog for the third year in a row, was among the first of of the large dog group to leap into the water. The 3-year-old dog made his way to the deep end, walking on his hind legs and dog paddling with his front ones, chasing a blue football around the pool’s edge.

He was watched closely by the owner of the football, Loki, a 2-year-old black lab, Australian shepherd and pit bull mix standing at the top of the pool’s stairs. Loki’s owners said this is their second year attending the event.

“This is his favorite thing to do,” said owner Jennifer Pike. “I wish it was all day. I wish he could be out here for six hours.”

Pike and Greg Paquet named their dog after the god of mischief.

“We had the downstairs carpet replaced in our house, and he decided to un-replace it,” Pike said. “He’s just so full of life, he has so much energy. So if we don’t do things to make him tired, he’ll take it out on the house.”

Dog Daze organizer Michelle Chamberlain said with few exceptions — last year a dog sneaked into a bathroom next to the indoor pool, terrifying a woman inside - the event has gone off without a hitch each year. People begin asking about the end-of-summer event as early as the pool’s opening weekend every year.

“It’s our way to give back to the community and to give back to pet owners,” Chamberlain said.

Raffles at the event sent several pet owners home with free dog-training sessions and gift cards for Snooty Pet, a dog bakery and boutique, among other things.

A third contest for “funniest pet trick” was won by a bright-eyed border collie named Ares.

Ares’ owner pointed made her fingers into the shape of a gun, pointed at the black and white dog and yelled, “Bang, bang, bang!” Ares fell slowly to the ground, rolling onto his back as his tongue dramatically rolled out of his mouth.

Onlookers, most dog owners themselves, clapped and laughed.

“It’s just neat. It’s neat to see the dogs in swimsuits and sunglasses and life vests,” Chamberlain said of the event. “A lot of people don’t understand that if they don’t have pets.”

Contact Kimber Laux at klaux@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283. Follow @lauxkimber on Twitter.