Puppy Love

Every time I see a mixed breed dog at Beaver Brook... like Andy, Ralph's Puerto Rican street dog, I think about my Chagall's rescue story.

About seven years ago I was on the board of directors at a Central Mass. no-kill shelter named Dog Orphans. My elderly mother and I had begun to think about getting a tiny dog for her. Something that could be litter box-trained -- chihuahua, etc.

When we visited the facility, around my mom's birthday, it was love immediately. We saw this striking and charismatic mostly black, with white chest and paws, puppy wooing us through his enclosure. Despite a large group in the waiting area, Lucky - named by the shelter's workers - within minutes saw no one in the room except for my mom and me. When we heard his story it just cemented the deal.

This gorgeous three-month-old had been found in a box, with his littermates, along a very busy roadway by a good samaritan. This caring women was only able to save half of the six-puppy litter. Traffic had tragically taken the lives of the others. She placed two of the dogs, but kept the adorable male puppy that would soon be Chagall. The other members of her animal household rejected the youngster when she brought him home and she was forced to put him up for adoption. Enter my mother and me not more than a day or two later.

I have had many life-altering introductions, adventures, moments... but the day I brought Chagall home certainly takes a back-seat to no one and no thing!!!

That is certainly part of why I enjoy taking the big guy to the P-A-R-K as often as a chaotic human life permits. We saw some of our favorite play pals the other day -- Harper, Andre, Chewie, Riley, and Cody. Riley has got a new brother, 10-week-old apricot cockapoo Odie. He is already fearless and squeezable.

Happy scooping and we'll see you at the park...

Entering Delaney Park

Entering Stow Park, originally uploaded by phaird.

We hand an exciting adventure to Stow's Delaney Park. Very dog friendly and on a beautiful day. A little confusing to get to the first time but worth it. Unlike Waverly (Beaver brook), it is more of a walk and hike kind of park. There isn't an open field where people hang out and watch there dogs. As a photographer, I want that kind of interaction but the walk was really great. We saw a lot of dogs running around. Since my wife is 7 months pregnant, we took it slow but she really liked getting out of the house. We must have gotten there early because as we were leaving, the parking lot was packed and a large group of walkers came in with their dogs. I want to go back again this weekend and explore more of the trails. Got to remember to bring water for Toby. There is a lake there but he may need it while out in the woods.

Nursing Homes for Dogs

Oh yea. It had to happen. Read this artical about how dogs are treated in Japan.

Andre and Rudy playing

Back again to Waverly (Beaver Brook) where I finally got to meet Andre. A beautiful Great Dane puppy. At 4 months, he's already pushing 60 Lbs and should get to be around 180 when full grown. Still tripping over his own feet and eager to play with everyone. He thinks he's still a small puppy but he is about the same size as most of the full grown dogs at this point. I hope I'll get to see more of Andre and document his progress. Here he and Rudy decided to play where I was standing. I had to step back but it was easy to get a lot of close up shots.

Back at Beaver Brook

So good at waiting, originally uploaded by phaird.

I finally got back to Beaver Brook yesterday. It was a hot and muggy day but that didn't stop people from coming out. Summit was so good and loved to play and fetch. The best part though was hearing about how her owner would tell stories using all the words she knows. They were so funny. Something along the lines of " The trip to the PARK the COOKIE tree would GET THE BALL..." I love stories made up like that.

It was good to see other dog lovers hanging out and socializing. I was really glad to be out with my cameras taking pictures again. I hope to get back there next weekend too. The sooner the better.

Beaver Brook Dog Show

It was like an impromptu dog show -- pure breeds and mixes. After having just watched the Crufts Dog Show, I felt honored to witness a local version at my very own park earlier this week.

In a 30-minute stretch so many fabulous pets.
- Aussie Shepherd
- Bulldog
- Golden Retreiver
- German Shorthaired Pointer
- Rough-Coated Collie
- Chihuahua
- Cockapoo
- Black Lab
- Chocolate Lab
- Rhodesian Ridgeback
- And many glorious mutts!!!

Both species, man and animal, fraternizing while lounging in the grass. The pups chatted vigorously then took quick, but frequent mud baths. Most refreshing, however, were the back scratches on the emerald-green fields that abound at Beaver Brook.

As a dog parent I am delighted when the beloved rolling in the grass expedites the cleaning process after a swamp visit. My car is a "dogmobile," but there are limits.

Toby's first trip to the Acton Park

Toby by the water, originally uploaded by phaird.

This was our first trip to the Acton park. It's off School St. behind the fire house. My new neighbor told me that there are all kinds of trails that go off into the woods from there. It was really nice and had this small body of water for Toby to swim in. We got there a little late. Sundays at 10am is DOG TIME at the park. There was still a few dogs around though and everyone was pretty nice. It was new to Toby so he ran around finding all the new scents to smell. He really liked the water but there was some boys fishing and I was worried about Toby getting stuck on a hook. I'm going to try to get there again next week but I really miss Waverly. There is no place like it. I’m hoping to focus on a few different dogs at Waverly soon. Keep checking to see.