The Boomer Chronicles

I take my Canine Prince each morning to a dog park about two miles from my Boston neighborhood. There’s an interesting camaraderie that develops among dog owners at dog parks. You see the same folks day in and day out; in rain, snow, bitter cold and wilting heat; and you see each other never looking your best, because it’s early in the morning. We watch each other’s dogs grow from puppyhood into adolescence, and we are sad when one of the older pets grows old and dies. We inquire about the dog who hurt her paw last week and celebrate a pup’s birthday this week. I think all of this contributes to a strong feeling of community, and a sense that ‘we’re all in this together.’ I love my dog park companions. They come in all ages, though a lot of us are middle-aged (I think this could be because the dog park is in a very affluent neighborhood). We get along well. In fact, this Saturday, we will hold our Second Annual Holiday Dog Party. We are all bringing dog toys to trade and human food to share.

One of the aspects of the dog park I most enjoy is the amazing variety of people I meet there. One man told me something fascinating today. He works in ophthalmology and he explained how the very same medicine we give to our dogs each month to ward off heartworm is used for human consumption in areas of the world that are affected by river blindness. Who knew?!

The photo here is something I shot at the dog park today of my Canine Prince. Please excuse his messy mop of hair. He gets groomed every six weeks, and tomorrow is the day. By the way, the Obamas might like this hypoallergenic breed. Barack, Michelle, please get in touch if you want more information.

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 4th, 2008 at 10:40 am and is filed under Boston, Dogs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.