For the second year in a row, the Somerville Dog Owners Group had an outreach table in Foss Park for National Night Out. This year, in addition to coloring pages about "playing it safe around dogs" from the National Association for Humane and Environmental Education, we solicited original crayon drawings about dogs in/and the community. Thanks to sales on RoseArt crayons at Staples in Assembly Square and Office Max in Gateway Plaza, we were able to give away boxes of 24 crayons to NNO participants.

We are delighted that, again this year, the Massachusetts State Police K-9 Unit accepted our invitation to offer a Police K-9 demonstration at National Night Out. Below, Officer Brian Cooper and his partner, K-9 Dazo, demonstrate canine obedience training. Later Officer Mike Fiore described the "Bark and Hold" technique, while his partner, K-9 Faust, performed the technique with Officer Cooper.

Highlights from the second annual som|dog pot luck picnic included Prosciutto and Artichoke Schiacciata, contributed by the owners of Granby and Chloe, and my own latest attempt at the perfect potato salad.

See more pictures of Somerville's National Night Out on flickr.com. Somerville's National Night Out is sponsored by Somerville Cares About Prevention.