It's a Doggy Dog World

I have to believe that for dogs, going to the dog park is the true equivalent to a child going to Disneyland.

We’ve only recently begun bringing Bruno to the park, because he had to finish all of his shots first, but he has experienced nothing but pure joy every time. When we first take his leash off he spends about 15 minutes sprinting around the perimeter of the park. He gets so excited he sometimes forgets his brakes and runs full force into the flank of another dog. Fortunately, his puppy-ness seems to be a plausible excuse for his less-than-perfect manners, because he’s yet to have received so much as a growl.

Once he’s gotten his initial ya-ya’s out, he then enjoys stealing toys that other people brought to use with their dogs. Yeah, he’s that kid, but his intentions are innocent, he simply wants to keep the games going as long as possible. We don’t have a prayer of catching him until he’s been there for at least 30-40 minutes and is starting to fatigue. At that point, we try to tackle him to give him water, otherwise he is too excited to rehydrate on his own accord. It’s like stopping for a pit crew; after some water and petting he’s off again at lightening speed.

The dog park labels the two separate enclosed areas “Active Dogs” and “Passive Dogs.” This is just a polite way of saying “Spazzy Dogs” and “Wimpy Dogs.” I assume you understand that we will never go near that passive nonsense, we come with our A-game to party hardy.

It’s fun to do something for another being that makes them the happiest they’ve ever been. Since dogs lack significant short term memory capabilities, every day that we take Bruno to the park is therefore the best day of his life.