sunday in the park with...Beau.....

Dog owners have such a unique relationship with strangers and fellow dog owners. We have become such a society where a hello from one stranger to another on a sidewalk is generally unheard of. This all changes if you have a leash attached to your hand with the canine member of your family at the other end. Strangers will walk up to you to pet your dog, tell you how cute he is, or simply smile and say hello as they laugh at your wiener dog trotting along beside you. This becomes even more the case when the person you approach is another dog owner. In a way our dogs force us into these conversations. They see another dog and instantly rush to sniff and greet each other, leaving the owners to start a sometimes awkward situation while my dog sniffs the privates of the other dog and vice versa. Sometimes you chat, sometimes you sit in silence while the dogs do their thing, and sometimes if you are in a hurry, you just simply keep walking. I think this is just another reason why I enjoy having Beau so much. It is the highlight of my day when we go to the park after work and he happily plays and meets other dogs and I get to meet random people in the park. I mean, it's usually no more than a hello, a goodbye, and some talk about our dogs in between, but at least we say hello. No longer do I keep to myself and just walk, I've become a friendlier person. I think that's a good thing.