Dog Days

Here in the South, we are truly experiencing the Dog Days right now. As my grandfather would famously say, "It is strictly hot!"

But on the ham radio airwaves, the dog days have a hint of cool to them. 

K0DOG is a special event station operating the entire month leading up to International Dog Day on August 26. A team of operators has lent their talents with lots of bark (and no painful bite).

I had the privilege of making contact with one of the K0DOG operators over the weekend. 

As stated on the QRZ.com page for K0DOG:

Members of the Dog Day Radio Amateur Radio Club, K0DOG, are joining their friends around the world to carry the message of kindness and to encourage animal rescue and responsible care. 

My radio friend Caryn is one of the top dogs wrangling this pack of operators. I heard her on the air over the weekend as well and recognized her "steady fist" (ham radio lingo for one's ability to send morse code smoothly) so I dropped her a line to let her know I had "worked" another member of the team.

After the event is over, operators can obtain this nifty QSL card by sending an SASE to the address listed on the event's QRZ.com page. 

                                                    Image courtesy of K0DOG

The event dates to 2022 and was the idea of Dutch amateur radio operator, Hanz, who now lives in Latvia. There is more information about him and, also some great information about dogs and dog care, on the aforementioned page.

If you're a ham radio operator, it's a great opportunity to "work" a fellow op for a good cause. As a part of your QSO, you might tell stories about your preferred pooch. Or, if you are so inclined, your kute kitty. Seems like I have heard about a number of ham shack cats during my time back on the air. 

My friend Jerry, for instance, has a kitty who famously would help him send an extra dot or dash by tapping the key while it was in action. And, indeed, I've noticed our own, Scotty, will occasionally try to do the same if he is hanging out with me in my shack.

His predecessor, Roger, was content to sprawl in front of the space heater during winter months and soak up the warmth.  And by the way, isn't that a great ham shack name? Roger? We can't claim it. It came with him when we adopted him from the local shelter in 2004. Alas, he became a silent meow three years ago.

And later that year, the brother/sister duo of Scotty and Kells came home to the K4KYN QTH.

So, if you hear K0DOG on the air, give them a call. And remember, a dog days contact can focus on feline as well as canine. The more pets, the better. And great stories make the contact all the richer. 

Caryn has put together a great team and, as I mentioned above, an informative webpage. if you are interested in learning about the event, check out: https://www.qrz.com/db/K0DOG.

Woof woof.

73

JG