Maisie and Me: Sunday Funday!

Maisie and I are lucky to live less than a block away from Puptown, one of the best dog parks in the city. She's been a bit more timid there after the altercation a couple weeks ago, but seemed to get back in the swing of things today. She started whimpering with excitement as soon as we got close to the entrance gate.

Sometimes she likes to have a little time to check out the scene by herself before joining in with the others.

After maybe ten minutes, Maisie began approaching and trying to play with groups of dogs.

Here she poses briefly with some other pup's drool on her face.

She also enjoys being part of the welcoming committee to greet newcomers.

It was tough to get a picture of Maisie running at full speed...she is FAST. There were about five other dogs chasing after her at this point.

When she needs a break from being chased, she gives herself a time-out under a park bench. In the winter, she likes to eat ice while she's under there.

The water fountain runs continuously for the dogs in the summer, but is off between October and April. Today, a dog parent less forgetful than I am brought a jug of water to fill it up. The dogs tend to gather around the bowl at times.

Every so often, Maisie would run up to me and kind of "check in." She generally looks around for me periodically, just to make sure I'm still there.

For some reason, Maisie hates German Shepherds. One trainer told me it might be because their ears are always upright, which could be interpreted as a threatening stance. This is Otis, one of Maisie's canine enemies. He was also at the park, so she spent some time barking at him. Otis never stays very long because he is older and has hip dysplasia. He seems like a very good dog.

Maisie's friend Bea was there today too and the two of them wrestled for a bit. Bea is an adorable little pit bull...she's gotten so much bigger than when we first met her over the summer as just a tiny puppy!