The dog park

I had my first experience at a dog park this week. And I liked it so much, I went twice.

My friends Andy and Alison live in nearby Reston and they have a yellow lab. His name is Jake and although he has made a sport out of destroying their new condo, he is a great dog! Now that I live only 10 minutes from them, I figured I'd spend some time with Jake when I am free to get him out of the house.

On Monday, Jake and I went to the dog park in Reston. He's a veteran of the place, so he gave me directions as I drove. "Take a left Uncle Jason. Ok, follow this road and take a right at that stop sign. Now another left ... hey we're here!"

I really did not know what to expect. Is it a fenced-in area? I assumed it was. Grass? Dirt? How big is it? How many dogs will be there? I pulled up and got my first glimpse.

There was a large fenced-in area filled with gravel. A few dogs were racing around with each other, but it was quiet this day. I glanced at my watch and figured it was still early for the late afternoon influx of canines and their handlers. I opened up the back door of my car, clipped the leash on Jake's collar, and led him take the lead. He raced up the small grassy knoll (???) and waited at the first gate. "C'mon Uncle Jason! Open the gate!"

I unlatched the gate, took off his leash, and let Jake show me where to go from here. He ran up to the second gate, the one that led into the play area. I could sense his excitement by the grin on his face and the tongue hanging out of his mouth. As I opened the second door, Jake stuck his nose through the small opening. "Hurry up! My friends are in there!" Roughly 0.08 seconds later, Jake was at a full sprint.

As I said, there were only a few dogs at the park this day. But that didn't stop Jake from having fun. He wrestled, rolled in the gravel, and raced his friends. I found an old frisbee on the other end of the pen, which measured about 75 yards X 40, and called to Jake. He raced over in excitement as I prepared to toss the yellow disk. And for the next 30 minutes, him and another dog played and played and played with this thing. It was like I put LSD on it or something.

Let's skip ahead to Tuesday, when Jake and I returned to the dog park. I knew the routine so I let Jake in and counted atleast 15 other dogs there. "Alright Uncle Jason! Now we can have some fun!"

There were labs, boxers, dalmations, shepherds, and all combinations thereof running around like mad men and women. Jake instantly found a white-colored lab and started wrestling and playfully biting. They had a blast together!

To anyone who has never been to a dog park, picture this: You're standing in the middle of this huge area covered with gravel. There are dogs all around you, most of them running at or near full speed. If you don't keep your head on a swivel, you might get run into a few times by an out of control dog. But it's so much fun! Aside from having to pull your dog off another one every now and again, you just watch these wonderful animals socialize with each other.

Today was about 35 degrees and windy at the park, but Jake and I stayed for over an hour. When I called him over and told him it was time to go, I swear I saw him frown. "We have to leave now? But I just made some new friends! Can I atleast get their number? I like that chocolate lab chick over there!"

Sorry Jake, it's time to leave. I leashed him up and walked out of the pen smiling. I told Jake I would take him back soon so he can hit on the chocolate lab.

-Jason