Dogs of Our Lives: Introduction
It occurs to me (well, actually it occurred to a friend, and I've stolen the idea), that our local dog parks -- official and unofficial -- are teeming with, among other things, drama.
As places where we city dwellers (often lacking our own backyards) regularly congregate with our dogs -- conversing, connecting, bonding, bitching -- they are the perfect setting, if not for a sitcom, at least for a soap opera.
So let the soap operas begin.
In the coming weeks, we will be introducing, in the form of blog entries, our new spring lineup -- think CSI meets One Life to Live -- of dog-park soap operas, conceived by me (with help from Steve, whose dog is named Joey), produced by the Mutts blog, and written by ... YOU.
We'll start with Dogs of Our Lives -- Riverside, it being the park with which Ace and I are most familiar, and move on to DOL-Canton, DOL-Patterson Park, DOL-Locust Point, and DOL-Federal Hill.
Each version (and feel free to propose a new one) will be introduced on the main blog here with a scene-setter, and they will be findable later by going to our categories section and clicking on "Dogs of Our Lives."
The various versions will then show up in the form of blog entries. And the comments section of each will be where the dramas -- large and small -- play out.
What's the latest park gossip? Who's (dogs or humans) involved in a budding dog park romance? Who's not picking up their dog's poop? Which dogs might benefit from some therapy? What dog owners might benefit from some therapy? And what of the ongoing discord between dog people and non-dog people?
What we're really after -- as opposed to name calling and replaying tired arguments -- is insight into the intricacies and dynamics of dog park behavior, and by that we mean not just that of the dogs, but their humans as well.
Look at it as an ongoing, exploratory dialogue for dog park denizens -- one for each park.
Why is it we (or at least I) can remember dog names, but not human ones? Is talking about the weather the human equivalent of butt sniffing? Are owners of big dogs compensating for something? Is it appropriate for yuppies to be shouting "Five-Oh" when they see police or animal control officers arriving at the park?
(It should be noted here that the Canton Dog Park is the only one in Baltimore where dogs are allowed to run off leash -- the only official dog park. At the rest, many of us are regularly -- brazenly -- breaking the law. How's that for added drama?)
Anonymous comments are allowed (since they're usually the best ones) and maybe even advisable (since these are people you hang out with everyday), but let's try and stay civil and use clean language so I don't have to edit it out.
Otherwise, where this goes is pretty much up to you. So click on the comment button and spill.
And, by all means, tune in tomorrow for the next episode ...
(Graphic by Emily Morrow/Baltimore Sun)
Comments
2 Additional "Parks" that are a must add for a Baltimore Region blog on this topic: Robert E. Lee and Rodger's Forge Elementary.
E is for Excellent Idea on the Dog Parks blog.
Posted by: Rob | April 28, 2008 11:05 AM
Rob,
Excellent idea on the additions. Here's the plan: this week, Riverside Park and Canton Dog Park; next week Patterson, Latrobe and Federal Hill Park; week after that Robert E. Lee and whatever the two most suggested others are. Thanks for your input.
Posted by: john woestendiek | April 28, 2008 2:32 PM
Well, at the moment, I take a dim view of some of the non-dog-owning neighbors here at the Canton park. The hours when the park is open have been curtailed quite a bit because of Fear of Noise. And I do mean Fear of Noise, because the actual noise is quite moderate.
As far as I can see (and hear) humans talk quietly among themselves and dogs go about quietly doing whatever it is dogs are always doing--but they don't bark. And if ever a stray bark escapes, the responsible human is quick with a correction. Now, whenever there's a loud party (frequent) or somebody decides to drive down the street at double the speed limit (more frequent) or somebody's absurd car alarm goes off for no reason in the dead of night (most frequent of all), I find myself wondering: Dog person or dog-noise-fearer? I'm not even going to talk about the woman who sits across the street in her SUV every morning at seven a.m. honking frantically because she can't be bothered to get out and go knock on the door. I'll just observe that at this point, people and dogs can't go to the Dog Park at seven.
I have to say that the volunteers who run the Dog Park do all they can to ensure that everyone is kept happy. It can't be easy. I'll also say that if you want a monastic suburban hush, you should probably go buy a house in the suburbs.
Posted by: Anne Onymous | April 28, 2008 10:55 PM