I love this picture, even though our two golden retrievers, Bobbi and Ellie, are barely visible. They are the two tan dogs in the far background- while in the foreground of the shot are two of the many new friends they’ve made at the Petrifying Springs Dog Park. This is an area which is enclosed by a permanent fence inside which dogs are permitted to run without leashes- and whenever we take our dogs there, we walk away with a big smile on our face and a sense that maybe the world is going to be okay after all. . . because if dogs and dog owners can get along this beautifully, maybe the rest of the planet has a chance as well.
There’s nothing complicated about it. There’s no charge and no need to register. You just show up with your dog, something with which to pick up their “business,” and of course any treats or water you might want to have as well. But one of the nicest things about the dog park is that an unwritten policy of share and share alike seems to be in place – which is good since the dogs there (including our own) seem a whole lot more interested in the water of others than in our own. (Don’t tell me that golden retrievers aren’t a lot like teenagers.) And once you and your dogs are safely inside the inner gate, you let them loose and watch the fun ensue.
One thing that has become increasingly apparent is that while our dogs do a fair amount of frolicking with the other dogs there – and of course each time you’re there it’s a slightly different “cast of characters” – they tend to be a lot more interested in the people there than in the other dogs. . . which has made them especially popular. Of course, every time our dogs are “befriending” someone in their own inimitable way, the person being smothered with dog kisses will say something like “don’t you get any attention at home?” It’s always said with a smile, but the words sting because there’s probably a grain of truth to them. On the other hand, it’s as though our dogs know that everyone at that dog park is a dog owner (duh!) and is likely to welcome the attention and affection.
It’s fun to be around the other dogs, as well – including all of the intriguing combinations that one sees nowadays (like a dachshund and cocker spaniel mix, which is one of my favorites) – and to see the dogs coexisting so peacefully. Once in awhile there is an ill-mannered dog (and usually they have an owner that seems as amused as anything by their dog’s behavior) but 99 out of 100 dogs behave perfectly . . . and nearly that many of the dog owners are a similar pleasure to be around. (And anybody who welcomes our dogs’ exuberant affection is okay in my book.)
Of course, what seems to interest Bobbi and Ellie more than anything or anybody is . . . each other. I love how there can sometimes be three dozen other dogs tearing around the dog park and having fun, but they will spend almost all their time with each other, as though nothing could possibly be more pleasant than one another’s company. And while most of the other dogs there run and run like there’s no tomorrow, our dogs tend to be couch potatoes (or in this case, grass potatoes) – a bit too quick to recline in the cool green grass. On the other hand, it’s just as well that Kathy and I have to do a little bit of running around ourselves to get our dogs exercising as they should.
Speaking of exercise, I always get a good workout when I bring them to the park by myself. That little trip from the car to the dog park gate is always a miniature “I Love Lucy” episode, as I wrestle with two dogs who are uncontrollably excited and jumping around in circles once they see where we are. . . typically twisting their two leashes around me to the point where I’m sometimes as immobilized as an Egyptian mummy- and when I’m also trying to carry a bowl of water, the comedy gets only wilder!
But it’s SO worth it to see our two dogs this excited – to see them running through that beautiful grassy expanse or resting beneath one of the towering trees – a picture of utter contentment.