Good morning Fur friends,
It is the end of the week, and the weekend has arrived. The weather has been good this week, so Mom has tried taking me to the park daily for a couple of hours which is good for us.
I have been reading articles lately about the pros and cons of dog parks and there are days when I question is it safe for Layla with her age but living in a city and therefore no yard it is the only place where she is free to wander around and sniff which she needs.
There are many dog parks in San Francisco, and some say there are more dogs than kids here but the park I go to daily is two blocks away from where I live, it is convenient and easy to get to although I do go to other parks by bus when I have more time. This park is very much a community and some of the dog people there have been going for years. I have been going there for about 12 years if not more and we all know each other, we know what dogs are allergic to what treats and we all keep hawk eyes on our dogs and make sure they are all behaving. Yes you have the odd one like this woman that sits on a bench in the park with her dog trying to hump every dog while she sits there handing out treats like an ATM. She is not liked by most of us and she knows she dare not give Layla a treat as I do not trust what she is feeding them.
But today was the final straw for me, I got so angry with someone and picked up Layla and came home. There is a newbie as I call him, that has a beautiful labrador who is blind, he comes into the park, lets the dog loose and the dog just runs everywhere, and he sits on a bench on his phone calling his dog all the time. This dog knocked Layla over on the lawn on Monday and thank goodness she was startled but fine, the regulars immediately ran to check on her. It happened again today, and I just exploded yelling at him and all he did was laugh and tell me his dog is blind. When I told him Layla is blind and a senior, he just laughed so I turned around and said then you watch your dog carefully as there are small dogs in the park also and one especially Layla can get hurt. He stood there laughing and called me silly so I told him it takes one silly person to recognize another and if his dog hurts Layla he will have to pay the vet bills. He sat back on the bench for a few minutes and when his dog nearly knocked a kid over (there is a playground for children in one corner of the park) he took his dog and walked out of the park.
That is when I question myself, am I doing the right thing taking her to the park. I feel bad for her as she loves going, wandering, barking at me, or just sitting or standing with the sun on her face, and she needs it mentally. I try to take her when there are not a lot of people in the park for her safety but then you have a disrespectful dog owner who spoils the park time for Layla as after that incident, I put her in her stroller and brought her home. She is fine, ate her food, barked for her snuffle toy, and then went to lie down and to sleep.
I would love to know what you think as summer is around the corner and I want to take her out on adventures or to her regular park.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone, be safe.
With a woof and love from Layla