Acton park town meeting

I wanted to give a heads up to users of the Acton park Great Hill. This is the soccer field behind the South Acton Fire Station. A notice was posted to "discuss dog control concerns". I contacted the park to ask if you had to be an Acton resident and she said "NO". Everyone is invited and encouraged to attend. I will be there and I hope that if we could get 20 percent of the Sunday group to show up we would have a very busy room. Please make the time to express how important the use of this field is.

I have to say that of all the parks I've been to in the last 6 months, this park is the nicest. The people are very consistent and the majority of people pick up and look after their dogs.

You can email the Acton Recreation department for further info at rc@acton-ma.gov.

dog park community

sheltie, originally uploaded by phaird.

I'm wondering what non-dog owners think about dog parks. My first impression about bringing my dog, Toby, to the park was to let him get some exercise. What I've come to learn with coming on a schedule to the park is that dogs have friends. They show up and get so excited when they see dogs they know. The run and play, bark and wrestle. Some prefer seeing their favorite humans (usually the ones with treats in their pockets). Others just wonder around and watch. They join into races and then head back to their owners as a safe zone. Everyone, dogs and humans always get a kick out of the park though. For me it's a highlight of my week.

Scout

Scout, originally uploaded by phaird.

It's been a crazy week. Last weekend we did our first official interview with Scout's family. Scout has a younger brother Fenway who is learning to adjust to his new family and coming to the park with all the bigger dogs.

Both Scout and Fenway have a amazing story that we hope to publish in the book. The couldn't have been luckier dogs to be adopted by such a caring family. It takes a lot to accept an animal into your home when they have physical and emotional scars like both Scout and Fenway has.

During the interview. One moment had me laughing so hard. Evy and Paul were talking about when they were first discussing the option of adopting Scout. Paul went down the list of issues; No fence, really busy schedules, how would we manage his care, and other lists if concerns. Evy's concern was what name to give Scout.

Dusty with ball

Dusty with ball, originally uploaded by phaird.

Dusty is one of those high spirited dogs that will just go and go. He's an older but that won't stop him. He's smart about his play time though. He only wants you to kick the ball instead of throwing it so it won't go as far and when he gets tired, he'll drop it far away or hold on to it for a while. I've been getting to know Dusty and his family these past few weeks and each one has a great rescue story.