Why Blue and White?

 The Dog Fountain in Summer

On Wednesday I walked to the Dog Fountain. I love watching everyone relaxing near this whimsical fountain. Here are some pictures, which I took back in 2019.  

Here’s a webpage about the Dog Fountain, which says where to find it in Toronto:

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/berczy-park-dog-fountain 

So, I hoped to see flowing water and happy people when I reached the fountain last Wednesday. But my hopes were disappointed. Instead, I found a puzzle in blue and white.

The Dog Fountain in Winter

The last time that I visited the Dog Fountain was in February of this year, when it was still very cold. The fountain had no water. This protects the fountain's pipes, which would otherwise break when the water in them froze and expanded. Someone had put scarves on the dogs to keep them warm.

The Dog Fountain in June

On Wednesday the 2nd of June, there was still no water flowing in the Dog Fountain, even though the day was warm. And again the fountain dogs were wearing scarves. This time their scarves were blue and white. 

Why blue and white?

I wondered, why are the scarves blue and white? 

Back in wintertime I didn't wonder why the dogs' scarves were red and white. Maybe because red and white reminds me of Christmas and I just assumed that was the meaning. Maybe the novelty of finding the scarves was all that I noticed. By contrast in June I noticed that the dogs were still wearing scarves, but the scarves had a different combination of colors - no longer red and white but blue and white. So my reaction this time focused on the change of color. 

My first guess was that the scarves were Ryerson University scarves. If you asked me normally what are Ryerson colors I would say "no idea." But I had just walked through Ryerson university's main city campus and there was a lot of blue and white around. Here's a section of the new Ryerson university building, which features blue and white:

Next I thought "Blue Jays"? But no, not with scarves, I decided. Then I looked around and saw blue and white signs all around the square; blue and white on a Toronto City Council sign and blue and white on a Bell company car: 

Then I noticed a sign hung around the neck of one of the dogs. And I think that this explains why the scarves are blue and white. I'm not 100% sure. But remember that I saw these scarves in June, and June is a national awareness month for something - something that the sign reminds us about. And the colors of the Centre referred to on the sign are......blue and white!  

Please, have a guess as to the meaning of the blue and white scarves, before you check out the website below. 

This website was on the sign:  https://www.chkc.org/