February 13, 2011

White Dog and the rest of the White Dog Army (including Honorary White Dog, Dragon) continued our quest today for the perfect site to hold our planned 2MillionDog Puppy Up Walk for canine cancer research and awareness to be held this June. We all packed into Pumpkin late morning and headed off to explore four Parks, not in our "normal stomping grounds" that were recommended by other dog people.

We had been told that our first stop had an excellent off-leash area. And boy, did it! White Dog flew from one end of the football sized area punctuated with shaded benches and blanketed in wood chips to the other and waited impatiently for Steve to catch up with the others so that they could see the Big Dogs area. Heaven! And with a playful black and white Sibe yearling to guide them, WD, AWD, SAWD, and HWD enjoyed the romp. Quinn, TOWD, got a bad vibe or something because there was no begging or commanding that successfully got him to leave the first entry gate. He stared forlornly out to the parking area where Pumpkin sat. His vote was certainly not positive. The other negative was that this was JUST an off-leash park...wouldn't work for 200+ dogs and vendors and booths and music. We all agreed...stays on list for future fun romps; off the list of Walk sites.

A bit of a drive and some maneuvering through residential blocks brought us to the next option which had quite a few dogs...and lots of "No Dogs In This Section" Signs. Also lots of cigarette butts and litter. The Army got out to leave pee mail that they had been there but quickly checked it off the list and hopped back into the car.

The Sports Complex Park was an exciting prospect even as we pulled up. All of the dogs whimpered impatiently for a chance to get out and explore the 78 acres of walking paths and picnic areas and green spaces. It got woofs of approval before anydog had even taken a step. The more WD, TOWD, AWD, SAWD and HWD strolled and sniffed the bigger the wags. From a human standpoint it was easily accessible and would meet the needs of 200 dogs walking 2 miles. We put it on the "investigate the next steps" list for availability, permit and cost requirements. Our fear is that this park is too popular and may not be available...paws crossed.

Our final destination was an old-fashioned small town summer park in the historic town of Bernalillo, between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. The Army at this point was getting tired and hungry but they were persuaded (with the promise of tasty human food) to check out the sandy paths around old cottonwoods, the giant pavilion, and the large grassy area. We liked the old timey feel of the place and knew that the town's Parks Director was anxious to win us over. The Park made the cut to the next round.

During the week I will begin the bureaucracy game of finding out requirements and details only humans really care about. For now, The White Dog Army had earned a special lunch so we headed off for a dog friendly meal of meatloaf and bacon and fish and sweet potato fries...which made EVERYONE'S tail wiggy wag!