Near my house is a neighborhood where just about everyone has a dog. Many households even have two and three dogs. As a result, not only is the neighborhood very noisy, but it is also very dog friendly.

My neighbors are mostly getting up there in age. The dogs around here seem to fall into two categories – lap dogs or barely old enough to climb up and down their front steps. My dog, I can tell, is rather lonely.

Awhile ago, as I was walking my dog through the next neighborhood, I started thinking, “wouldn’t it be nice if I could introduce my dog to some of these dogs?” I turned a corner and right before me was this brand new dog park roped off in the middle of a popular park.

On the inside of the fence surrounding this dog park, there were about a dozen dogs running free from their dog leashes with one another. The dogs were jumping and playing and having a good old time.

I took my dog to the gate and he just couldn’t contain his excitement. I let him off his leash and he ran to the middle of the pack. I huddled around the fence with the other doggy parents as we watched our pups play with their dog toys.

After about a week of going to the dog park, I began to make friends with the other dog owners who took their dogs there regularly. Friendships were struck, and we started planning “people activities”, like coffee and shopping, where we could include our dog pals..

Now our activities regularly include gathering at the dog park and then walking to the local coffee shops. We take outings with the dogs, like to the river, and spend time with other dogs in the park. Dog walking has turned out to be a great way for me to find new friends and develop several long term friendships.

My dog now always looks for and expects his new people friends to join us when we’re walking alone. As soon as I take him off the leash, he runs as fast as he can to the doggy park! We feel so lucky to be in such a dog-friendly neighborhood where there are so many like-minded families.

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