The church of dog

Do the dance, originally uploaded by phaird.

Well, the snow is all gone and the brown is back but at least the sun was out. It was a fun day at the park and I got an extra treat because my whole family came with. My wife normally doesn't come to the park but she wanted to get out of the house just as much as Toby so we packed up the kids and all went to the park.
It wasn't all roses though. My 2 year old, Isaac got in the path of a dog and was ran over. He was fine but pretty sad about it. He's the real animal lover of the family but he is also the smallest one at the park walking around so he couldn't keep up with the bigger dogs.
I talked with one woman who didn't know much about the Acton park. We talked about how good the town of Acton is about allowing the dogs to come to this park and that there isn't any formal structure to it. We talked about how Sunday, this park is the dog church. It's a place where we can call come with one soul purpose. To commune with our dogs.
That's the life.

Let it snow!

Mini Pin Jumping, originally uploaded by phaird.

It's nice to finally see snow on the ground at the park. Some of the dogs were so happy to finally run in the powder again. Unlike last year, it's been pretty scarce. Snow on a sunny day is great! The brown of the tree's aren't as bad when the dead grass isn't so obvious.

This little Mini Pin wasn't so wild about it though but it wasn't because of the snow. She had a bad experience at the park with a bigger dog a few weeks back where the bigger dog was too aggressive. Now she won't leave the safety of her mom's legs. I know all about that because Toby is the same way. He's still fussy about the park and dog's have a good memory for bad things happening some places. I feel bad for the little gal. Her mom is making a good effort to get her out and playing with her friends though. These two dogs are super submissive and just wanted to play but she just didn't want any part of it this week. Maybe next week.

There are a few other fun pics on my Flickr Page so check them out.

Oliver and Jake at 13

Oliver and Jake, originally uploaded by phaird.

Two regulars to the park are Oliver and Jake. Jake I've known for as long as I've been coming to this park but Oliver and I are just getting to know each other. There is a beauty of senior dogs that just makes people melt like when the see a puppy. You dog lovers know what I mean. You see a puppy and you just want to pet them and play. Well senior dogs are similar to the point that you want to pet them and show them lots of love. They don't move fast or have big, excited expressions. They have seen the world and know all their is to know (for a dog). They know what is important: Their owner, a comfortable bed, a good soft treat, some time outside and love when they ask. Seems like they have the right idea.

Maggie flying solo

Maggie 2x, originally uploaded by phaird.

This weekend, Maggie was on her own. Normally, Maggie and Snuggles show up to the park and run, bark, chance and tag team all the other dogs. They do it all for fun but they can be loud and freak out some of the other dogs. We love them but this week, they decided to break them up. Maggie and Jake came but Snuggles went to another park. They were testing to see if Maggie could be on better behavior if she's just on her own.
I wasn't at the park long (still helping Toby deal with his issues) but it seemed to be a good start. Their are lots of Aussie's that come to the park so there is not shortage of dogs that want to herd anyone they can.
Maggie didn't stand around long, but I got these two nice shots of her just hanging out. I thought they made a nice pair. I need to take a photo of Snuggles to do the same thing. (I've got LOTS of photos of Jake so he shouldn't mind too much).

Happy new year

Bella waiting at the park, originally uploaded by phaird.

I'm excited that the new year is here. I'm already working on new projects and trying new ideas. I want to get to the park more and the way the weather has been, It should be pretty easy. Except for Halloween, there has been no snow. This weekend has already been in the 60's so I expect there should be lots of people and dogs out.
This photo of Bella shows watching the entrance to the park. She is always watching to see if her other Aussie friends are going to show up.
There are a more new people who have been coming to the park. A bulldog named Tank just started showing up. He's super cute and I hope to get some good photos soon. Last week, I didn't stay long because Toby was still upset but I'm planning on going early, tossing the tennis ball and see if I can get his energy out. He's getting up their in years but he still loves fetching.
Hope to see you at the park.