Tails wagged, and eyes were to the sky as furry friends joined their humans at Barkanalia, a dog-friendly viewing party for the April 8 total eclipse.

Gayle Seymour, associate of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, organized the event, which included lawn games, dog adoptions, live music and a photo op with LUNA, the 25-foot inflatable eclipse superhero on the College of Business lawn.

A film crew, composed mainly of UCA film professors, also shot part of “Road Trip to Totality,” a dramedy feature film. 

UCA President Houston Davis said, “I love that Barkanalia took into account that our dogs are family too and to make someone feel like they didn’t have to be apart from their dog to be able to come and do it. I really appreciate Dr. Seymour and the team providing leadership to design this great part of what we’re doing. “

He said he and his wife Jenny have two basset hounds, Winston and Ted, that were kept at home as they volunteered. 

“Winston would be scared to death of all of this,” Davis said. “Ted would think that all of this was thrown for him.”

Davis wrote a poem at The Vortex booth, which provided a typewriter to write free poems. 

“I just imagined myself, the dog that is tired of the sun, looking for some shade, and if the sun will not relent, then their friend, the moon, is gonna take control,” he said.

His poem said, “Sun, we bark at you / We beg and bid you adieu / Should you not relent / our houndish ways will make you repent / Bark, bark, growl!” 

Alex Comeaux, a junior majoring in creative writing and minoring in English, said, “I’ve been walking around campus, and there’s been a bunch of dogs, and all of them have been increasingly cuter and cuter.”

Comeaux said they were most excited about “total darkness” in the middle of the day. 

“I kinda missed the 2017 one, and that wasn’t like a full, full eclipse,” Comeaux said.

Last Chance Arkansas employee Blanca Baker said, “We are a nonprofit organization. We are based all over Central Arkansas. We are foster home-based. All of our dogs are 100% in loving foster homes. 

“They get to learn how to live in a household environment, and it gives us the opportunity to really get to learn the dogs’ personalities and needs because our mission is to make sure that we meet our dogs’ needs and also the adopters’ needs. Because if we do both, we end up having a successful adoption, so our mission is to help homeless dogs to find loving homes.”

To adopt a dog, visit lastchancear.org and complete an application. 

Nakeya Palmer, a higher ed program coordinator for the art and design department, said Seymour inspired her to attend the event. 

“She’s been planning all of this stuff, and she’s told me about the dog Barkanalia for months,” she said. “I’ve only had my dog a year, so I was really excited to have something to bring her to.”

Tai Brockett, a junior majoring in nursing and minoring in addiction studies, brought her dog, Nathan, a mountain cur. 

“I was just really happy that there was a dog-friendly event,” she said.

Brockett said she would take Nathan inside during the eclipse.

“He would stare right at it,” she said. “I don’t trust him.”

Carlie Crabtree, a graduate film student, said her favorite moment from Barkanalia was when the eclipse reached totality.  

“I’m a graduate film student, and my professors are shooting the film, and they told me to bring my dog,” she said. 

She brought Moose, a 4-year-old great Pyrenees she found on Facebook Marketplace.