Full Notification

Dippy Dog Water Safety Program

With the arrival of spring and warmer temperatures, the Noblesville Police & Fire Departments would like to remind citizens about the Dippy Dog Water Safety Program. Parents are encouraged to speak with their children about the hazards of unsafe water in order to avoid water-related tragedies from occurring.

The Noblesville Dive Team’s “Dippy Dog Water Safety Program” is now in its 8th year! The Noblesville Dive Team is comprised of police officers and firefighters whose primary mission is underwater search, rescue, recovery and evidence processing. In addition to these responsibilities, the team promotes water safety through the Dippy Dog Water Safety Program. Every 1st grader in the Noblesville School system participates in the Dippy Dog program. The primary goal of the program is to steer young children away from unsafe swim areas through education. The message is simple; stay out of unsafe water. Unsafe water includes the obvious such as retention ponds, creeks, rivers, etc. and the not so obvious that includes swimming pools and inflatable pools when no adults are present. The program also promotes safe swim areas in Noblesville such as Forest Park Aquatic Center, Morse Park & Beach, Stony Creek Swim Center and Dillon Park Splash Center.

The program starts with a coloring contest. The coloring sheets are dropped off at the school and then collected prior to the actual presentation. The coloring sheets were designed by Noblesville High School students and those very same students serve as “celebrity” judges for the coloring contest. Each classroom has a winner announced during their presentation.

Each presentation last approximately 45 minutes and is geared towards 1st grade students. The class is interactive and includes many pictures of the local area. After the program, each student receives a packet to take with them. Each packet includes a participant award certificate signed by Mayor John Ditslear and Dippy Dog and an information sheet identifying some safe swim areas in Noblesville.

The entire community continues to support this program. The Dippy Dog logo, mascot, and coloring sheets were all created by Noblesville High School students with help from the school’s art teacher, Craig Helming. The Safe Swim Areas in Noblesville continue to pledge their support for the program. Stony Creek Swim Center covers all the printing costs for the program and supplies “goodie bags” with informative brochures. Mayor Ditslear and his entire office played a tremendous role in getting this program off the ground and we appreciate the continued support from the Mayor’s Office. The Noblesville Dive Team would also like to thank all of the teachers and school staff for allowing the team to bring this program into their classrooms.

In addition to the school presentations, the Noblesville Dive Team also participates in community events that promote awareness and prevention of water-related incidents.

If anyone has questions or would like more information about the Dippy Dog Water Safety Program, please contact Patrolman Craig Pittman, Noblesville Police Department, at (317) 776-6340, ext. 1346.