Christmas 2019, our daughter and Waffles the Pug came to stay. This was a mere few months pre-COVID and a global pandemic was the furthest thing from my mind.
It was during a pre-COVID Christmas break that I learned something new about the park by our old home. It’s a great place to meet other dog owners. In fact, we found a group of little dog owners who gather at 4 p.m. and let their dogs play together. Waffles, who is not at all shy, was trying to take over the group and loves chasing and being chased.
I’m not sure he’s all that welcome in this exclusive club, except by two lady pugs, Mona and Sadie. The highlight was a surprise visit by Santa. Waffles, who thinks he’s a media star, photobombed every other dog’s photos. My daughter had to pull him out of other puppy pics more than once.
Another day, I discovered someone decorated our park with style! They covered three park benches with Christmas joy. Nobody knows who is responsible, but we all appreciated it.
I’m grateful for our park and the daily joy it gave me. In my new neighborhood, we have a tiny park where I see dog owners meet up, too. It’s tempting to think about getting my own little dog, but Olive the cat would have a fit.
Do you have a special outdoor place in your life? If you’re the owner of a dog, do you meet up with other dog owner to socialize and let your dogs play?
I am usually happy to meet few on the walk as the pug is pugnacious even at an older age. Sometimes my husband and I have brought him to a nearby dog park and he carouses from time to time with the other dogs. He is usually the only pug! As he gets older, he is more finicky but he does enjoy meeting some of the neighbor’s small dogs.
We knew nothing about pugs until we got our daughter Waffles. They are such lovable creatures with huge personalities.
They are! I hope we can find another one or it finds us!
I am so tempted to have one of my own.
We probably should take our Benny to some places to meet other dogs and let him run around. We’ve had him for a couple of years now and other than some meetings with other dogs in the neighborhood on our walks, he doesn’t get out much. He’s a terrier/spaniel mix we are pretty sure and has lots of energy. Maybe when the weather is better. We’ve got lots of rain here now.
Yes, that sounds like a good idea — when the weather is better! My kids are driving from Berkeley to Santa Barbara today in the rain.
Yes, I am going from San Bruno to Lodi to get my mom. Safe travels to your kids!
Thanks!
Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Madison Square Park. Love! We take Betty to the dog run, but she has no special dog friends
It sounds like Betty has special places to visit.
She’s not allowed in the garden but she does get to walk around a lot