First visit to Stodderd's Neck

Rory, originally uploaded by phaird.

I have to admit, I'm really jealous of all those people living on the south shore. For those who don't know, this is south of Boston right on the water. Stodderd's Neck is a public park that has been taken over by the dog lovers in the area. It's not an official dog park but sure looks like one and it's a perfect location for it too. It's surrounded on 3 sides by water and there is a gate at the entrance that makes it hard for more then one person at a time to get in.

Sunday was a PERFECT fall day all across New England and people were out enjoying it with their dogs. The parking lot was packed and the park was hopping with all kinds of dogs. The photo here is of Rory, a regular at the park. There was lots of new faces like my dog, Toby but for as many dogs as there were, there was still plenty of room.

This area, even though on the water, is surrounded by bushes and there is a small hill at the center. The is a small path that follows the inside area of the park or if you want you can walk out on the beach and let your dogs romp around in the water. After talking to another regular at the park, I'd advise against it right after it rains. The rain washes all the bacteria up and on more then one account, dogs have gotten sick. If it hasn't rained in a few days though, it should be fine.

I wish I wasn't an hour away but I sure enjoyed my visit and I can't wait to go back.

Keller reporting on pet economy

John Keller of WBZ here in Boston did his fluff piece on pets and the economy. To all of my readers, you know well that we will do anything for our pets. I would have been happier if he mentioned the swelling of shelters because of people abandoning pets or how the economy has hurt so many pets but this is a one sided point of view to take a jab at Martha Stuart who has started a pet line of clothes. The jab doesn't seem very fair.

Martha has devoted a big part of her website and time into her dogs and pet life. Why wouldn't she start a pet clothing line? Anyone who can put together a tea party for 150+ can spoil her pets and share it with the world. She has even a pet adoption area within her site. Some might say she should work with petfinder.com but as long as pets that need homes are finding them, then I'm all for it.

Rain rain, go a way

It was such a cold wet rainy day that I didn't take Toby to the park. Toby is a fair weather dog so every time I took him out, he had to be coaxed out. He would go out, do his business and run right back inside. It's funny how similar he and I are.

To keep you entertained, check out this Huffington Post of some great pet costumes.

Toby is up to his old tricks

Sharon_Dogpark_101109_09, originally uploaded by phaird.

Toby and I went out to the dog park in Sharon MA. It is one of the few official dog parks in the state. It was established in 2004 and from the looks of it gets a lot of support and use. I went with a friend and his two new dogs. What is really nice is that it's a fenced in location that has multiple entrances. There is a space for smaller dogs who want to be separate from the bigger dogs.

It was a beautiful day with a good number of dogs. I'd say that there was about 25 or 30 dogs there. The sun was warm and the cool Sunday afternoon. Toby was up to his normal antics. A few dogs wanted to play with him and he didn't want anything to do with them. He kept picking fights with anyone who came close. Part of that is him just being nervous about being someplace new.

By the end of the day though, Toby was super tired and had a great day. I think that the next trip will be exciting for him.

I'm looking forward to coming back to the park. There are a lot of regulars who show up and I'll focus my attention on their dogs and the great stories they have about them.

Toby puts his foot (paw) down

Toby wanting the ball thrown, originally uploaded by phaird.

I love going to the Acton park every Sunday with Toby. It is my one moment to myself with Toby where nothing else matters. I get to see my dog park friends and relax for an hour without the pressures of work and home life.

Toby on the other hand is starting to rebel against the park. For the past three weeks, he’s either not gone into the park or left within 5 minutes of getting there. This last Sunday he wouldn’t go into the park at all, even for the tennis ball. There is another open area hidden behind the park that I took him and he was okay with that. We threw the ball around for about a half hour but he never really relaxed. You can tell from the photo that he’s still nervous.

I think my next goal is to go and explore some of the other dog parks around the area. I have some friends in Sharron MA where this is another official dog park area. I’ll try to go visit them this weekend. I want to go back to the Waverly Oaks park in Waltham where I first started taking Toby on a regular basis when I lived in Watertown. The last time Toby and I went there, he LOVED it. I know that the Fells park is also a very dog friendly place to go. It’s going to be a lot more driving and as the weather gets colder, there may be a few less people with their dogs but I think it will be a good adventure for both Toby and me.

For all my faithful readers, if you know any parks around eastern MA that I should check out, let me know and I’ll even meet you at the park some weekend.