Since I've been on MEA, I've been able to get Lucy to the dog park more frequently. This is easily in her top 5 favorite places to go (not including our home, her top 5 includes-in no particular order-my parents' house, Luke's parents' house, Grand Marais, Crosslake, and the dog park). Every time we've made it out to the park, Lucy comes away exhausted after having made a ton of new friends. Today was no exception...
When we first got there, Lucy spent a good deal of time chasing after a sweet Jack Russel Terrier (there was no way that she'd ever be able to catch it), and then a Bernese Mountain Dog joined in the fun. It's amazing how much Lucy loves being in the pack. Then we started our walk into the woods, where we met up with a pack of 3 dogs (2 aussies and a mixed dog that looked like it had italian greyhound in her). Lucy had actually met this pack on Thursday, so we walked the rest of the park together (meeting even more dogs along the way!). When we got back to the field, there were at least 7 or 8 other dogs already at the park, so Lucy wasted no time and began running with the packs (mostly hearding dogs, a few labs, and a couple goldens). Lucy was having the time of her life. For a good portion of the running, Lucy was at the front of the pack and enjoyed ever second of it. Until...
Man, I wish I didn't have to write "Until..." I also wish that people wouldn't bring dogs that they know don't care for other dogs at the park, especially in the area where the dogs run around and romp with each other.
Anyway, things were going great until this German Shepherd decided to join the pack and single out Lucy. She was a growly one, but I didn't really think much of it since lots of dogs are vocal when they play. But then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw her get really close to Lucy's hindquarters, and then Lucy let out a painful YELP! She ran over to me, and I told her it was okay (though I did notice the frothy spot on Lucy's thigh...), and the GS's owner called to his dog and told her to "Stop it." Did she stop? Nope. Lucy was clearly frightened of this dog, and whenever she got close to Lucy, she growled and tried to get in her space. Every time the dog got close, Lucy would let out the YELP! again. I realized that this man wasn't going to do anything to control his dog (which was clearly frightening and intimidating my dog), so I called Lucy to come with me to the other side of the park. The GS wanted to follow, but fortunately the man decided that it would be a good time to take the GS on a walk, so he finally leashed her up.
When he had started down the trail, I started talking with some other dog park visitors and one came in saying, "I hear that I need to steer clear of the black German shepherd!" so clearly someone else saw what was going on and had warned this lady (also reconfirming what happened and that I didn't exaggerate it in my head). Another man up there commented that his dog had been attacked by that German Shepherd before, which led to a conversation about responsible dog ownership, etc.
After the unfortunate incident, Lucy was wary of the other dogs for a few minutes, but then became fast buddies with the new dogs that came into the park (including a boxer-mix puppy!), so I know that she won't associate the dog park with mean dogs, but it just sucks that such a wonderful morning full of conversation and good ol' pack running had to be tainted by one dog's actions.
As a reward for getting through this whole post, here are some pictures I recently uploaded from my phone!
