Gone to the Dogs

So I was at our local dog park today, we have great one close by; designated off-leash,heaps of room, a river to swim in, with a footpath all the way around the big loop so kids can ride bikes and scooters and such. Though why people bring kids to a dog park and then don’t want the dogs to go near the kids is beyond me, don’t they know dogs and kids are kindred souls, both hell-bent on fun and mud puddles?

It occured to me how there are similarities between the different types of owners and their dogs and the types of parents and kids you encounter at the playground. Maybe there’s something to that whole ‘fur-kid’ phenomonon. Although I hate when people tell me their dog is their 'baby'. Oh yeah? I don't really remember being able to put my 3 month old daughter out in the backyard with a bowl of water and a squeaky toy and go out for the day.

For instance, take the woman in the designer exercise gear, wearing $400 sneakers and chatting into a mobile phone whilst studiously ignoring her yapping little shih-tzu who is jumping up on you, growling at Rottweilers and crapping all over the place. Remind you of anyone?

Or the girls, always in packs and trackie-dacked, marijuana symbol proudly emblazoned on their tie-dyed singlets, blithely puffing away on their cigarettes and casually pulling their snarling mongrels off each other.

Maybe the woman with the precious little thing, usually a poodle or a maltese, probably wearing a diamonte collar and maybe a little ribbon and jacket ensemble, who scoops up her “baby” into her arms as soon as another dog approaches and who quails at the very thought of going near the sandy beach where all the other dogs are having a ball. Nope, nothing familiar there...

And for anyone whose wondering, my dog is a happily panting Labrador, usually with 2 year old GG hauling him around by the collar and demanding he go fetch her ball. I’ll leave it up to you to decide where that puts me on the spectrum. :)

Quixotic