Is It the Dog Park or Church?

We have our granddog for a couple weeks while FBC moves to Brooklyn, so we  joined the dog park.  Yes, you have to join it here – no freebies from the park service.  They want to be sure all the dogs have the proper shots and that Someone Knows Who They Are (in case a dog or owner breaks the rules.)  There is literally a locked gate and only members get keys.

Our dog park has a large Time Out Pen for the unruly or the potentially unruly.  Puppies can also hang out there to be trained, but since you can’t train puppies among dogs with bad attitudes, I never see a puppy in there.

The owners that make up The Dog Park Family are remarkably like your average church congregation.

• There’s the cranky man who has this conversation with me every time I see him:

Me:  Good morning!  How are you?

CM:  Just fair.

Me:  Not having a good day.

CM:  Today’s about as good as any day.  Some days are worse.

Note:  I would be annoyed with the perky lady too.  But I spared him from sitting down on the bench beside him and trying to fix his life.  Or maybe I should try to get to know him better.  I’d kind of like to hear his story but I don’t think he likes me.

• There’s the power couple with the French Mastiff.  They are carefree and friendly.  Their big dog is the power player by virtue of the fact that he’s the same size as Orb.
• There’s the lady who talks constantly and sees herself as the person in charge, but I get the feeling that this is the only place on earth where she has, or seems to have, any power.
• There’s the lady who stands in the corner of the park under the trees who never speaks unless unless it’s to say “Dash!  Dash!”  (her dog’s name.

A lot of people don’t know this dog park is even here, which is a shame because it’s pretty great.  There’s even equipment for older dogs who need exercise but can’t run anymore.

Most people care only about their own dogs and don’t connect much with other people’s dogs.  Except for that talking lady.

As for me and HH, we joined but we are just trying it out.  We won’t be here for many more weeks.