#SmartSummer: GoPro Captures Dog’s Experience at Cincinnati Reds’ Bark in the Park

This is the final post in our #SmartSummer series, where we’ve shared stories related to using tech to enhance summer activities and fun with family and friends.

This is a guest post from Julie Niesen Gosdin, a well-known food blogger in Cincinnati and the proud mom of Sofie, a lovable French bulldog. Connect with her on Twitter @Winemedineme. Disclosure: We loaned the GoPro to Julie for this event.

You may know me as a food blogger, but when I’m not eating, I’m an obsessive French bulldog parent.

Yes, in between pictures of the latest burger or a craft cocktail, you’ll find cute pictures of Sofie, my five-year-old Frenchie, on my Instagram account. My husband and I adopted her back in April, and we really don’t know how we got along without her.

When Verizon approached me a couple of weeks ago about trying out a GoPro with Sofie at the Cincinnati Reds’ Bark in the Park (an event we’d been dying to go to!), the answer was a no-brainer: yes!

I never thought I’d even want to try a GoPro. I’m not into extreme sports or diving, and I’d never thought to put one on my dog. Now, I’m thinking about getting one just so I can document Sofie’s doggy adventures around Downtown Cincinnati… maybe even a ride in my convertible! So many fun things to try that I’d never thought about before.

It’s also really easy: you put on a harness, strap on the camera and go. Once you get the hang of the controls on the GoPro, which are just one button on a tiny LCD screen, it’s pretty easy to scroll through. The app makes it even easier by allowing you to turn it on and off, as well as watch the action from your dog’s perspective, which might be the cutest thing ever.

As we walked around at Bark in the Park, I could see if the camera slipped or just experience a little bit from her perspective. We got lots of comments, too. “Is that a GoPro?” It definitely made an impact, and people loved to see what she was seeing via the app.

You can see from the video that Bark in the Park was a great event for Sofie. She got to walk around the warning track, eat some Iams dog food, lap a lot of water, “do her business” on Great American Ballpark turf, and get pets from some players in the dugout. She even made the Jumbotron -- twice!

Sofie also got to sit in a seat and watch the game (alas, I think she might be a Cubs fan). It was a great time.

I’ve been in suites and Diamond seats, but this was the most fun I’ve ever had a Reds game! It’s just so cute watching all the dogs hanging out together and enjoying time with their humans and each other.

There’s one more Bark in the Park this year on September 23rd. We might just go (and maybe we’ll have purchased a GoPro from Verizon by then!) to have even more fun.

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