I want food in this bowl and I want it now!!!

Stella and the bowl, a familiar sight

Typical dog park action

Sorry about the shaky camera work, Francis Ford Coppola I ain't.

Spencer

Luca

Oliver

Hard to capture as he is always in motion

One of our graduates Ellie

Actually, the Tucson state police have an APB out for Ellie as we have some evidence that Ellie was a little over the 30lb limit. Last seen in Seattle. Thanks Jessica. Ellie is saying "just try to take the ball from me, I dare you"

Dash

By sheer coincidence Dash met his biological brother last night in the park. We are hoping brother comes back so we can get a family portrait.

Rufus

Brownie and Lucky

Lucky must not have been feeling so lucky, hiding under the bench

Frisco, loves to pose

Callie

Rusty and Gypsy

And the Tucson Rockettes taking a much needed break

Vicious dog alert!

Not really- it is Sammy, but don't let his cute little looks fool you.

Rugby Scrum

Just havin' fun

Nugget

Getting some TLC after being run over

6/28/10 The small dog park at Brandi Fenton

Come'on Tucson- You can do it

I came across this picture from my hometown Pittsburgh (go Steelers!). This is the annual dog licking competition. The photo is of the winner(s). Surely we can do better.

Golf

They call it golf because all of the other four-letter words were taken. ~Raymond Floyd

Golf got in the way of a visit to the dog park today and Mocha and Poppi are not too happy. They muttered something like 'Thank goodness for the pre-nup." Anyway- more tomorrow.

Who is that human

One phenomenon of many dog parks, including ours, is that we know most of the dogs names, but few of the humans know each others names. So, I will start- I am Mike and I am a doxie owner (times 2). We will go by first names as many of us are in the Witness Protection Program. I look forward to learning more (first)names.

Available for adoption- NOW!!!

Ollie, who can resist?
-impeccably groomed at all times
-instantly responds to commands such as Ollie! NO!!!
-one of our casanova dogs (just ask Mocha)
- trained to ride in car trunk

Of course we are kidding Ollie is not available, today that is.

Alea, no stress here

There is nothing like the cool feel of grass on the belly after a few hundred laps around the park

Lucky

The blogmeister (me) is partial to dachshunds so just get over it. This is Shirly's Lucky. He was rescued from being target practice for three large nasty dogs, hence the name.

Poppi's pal Brownie

No other dog gets Poppi's tag wagging faster than sweet Brownie.

Nugget

Ounce for ounce that toughest (in a nice way) dog in the park.

Is it????

Did a black bear invade our park? No, that is the famous Dash who will be a topic of a future post. Dash is a Schipperke.

Hairy

asking her human, why does this water taste like feet? I told you she was brilliant!

HOT DOG!!

6/23/10. My car gauge said 106 today. The dogs were all nice and polite, and even the humans were less testy than usual. That makes for a pleasant dog park but a lousy boring blog piece. Dog of the day is Hairy the Jack Russell. Although she (I know Hairy doesn't sound like a she, you'll have to check in with the owner about that one) is among the smartest dos in the park, she also is cagey enough to try to get into everything. Hairy is so smart that word has it she is skipping doggie school and going straight to the U of Arizona grad school. If my trusty camera phone worked, I'll post a pic of Hairy.
Since it is a quiet day. maybe a bit of background is in order. The dog park in question is in the Brandi Fenton Memorial Park in more or less central Tucson. The park is named for a young girl killed in a car crash in 2003, and her parents conceived of the park in her memory. Check it out, it is a great facility. To be more specific, there actually are two (or three) dog parks with the Memorial Park. The one that is the subject of this blog is the newest facility for dogs under 30 pounds. NOW, that little detail, 30 pounds, has been the focal point for much of the "excitement" in the parks' opening months, more on that later.

Gypsy and PJ

It's HOT!!

6/22/10- The dog days of summer (pun intended) have arrived in Tucson. About 101 this evening at the park. The dogs were lethargic, their human were nearly apoplectic. I worry about the dogs, humans-not so much. Here's an idea: Justin brings a big jug of water every day to cool off Ollie, maybe he can figure a way to hose the humans down as well. Just a thought!
Many of the usual characters here today- Betty had her daughter's cute King Charles PJ as well as Gypsy. Newcomer dog was Radar, a retired working Border Collie. Seems radar was a key player in keeping birds off the runway at Florida airports. Hmmmm, maybe they shoulda thought of that at Laguardia a while back. Later.

Welcome

For the past 8 months I have been an almost daily participant/observer of the dog parks in Tucson AZ. We have seen the camaraderie and the conflicts, the fellowship and the fisticuffs (nearly), the romance and the rudeness and that is just from the humans! As we have observed the daily routine occasionally interrupted by drama, several of us have talked of writing a blog about our adventures. This is the beginning.....