February 22nd - Walking you dog Day

Yes, it is an officially recognized day (but not a holiday) - although I would hope that every dog owner does not need a day to remind them that walking your dog goes along with owning a dog. I now live in North Carolina, which barely had any winter weather this year, so walking the dog may mean at the most putting up with some rain or wind. But I also owned a dog in Minnesota, when walking a dog meant walking a dog in minus temperatures and, owning a lab mix at the time, standing by the road, while the dog was jumping around in a snow covered field, expecting me to join him. So yes, walking a dog will be a chore at times, but too many dogs are simple kept in a fenced-in yard, while their owners get to roam around the city. Dogs love to roam too.

I am glad to see that many towns and cities now have dog parks. Durham is one of the cities that now has several dog parks. For a complete list of dog parks see here
The dog park in SW Durham is called Pineywood Park and is located at the intersection of Woodcroft Parkway and Woodlake Drive. The park consists of more than three acres of land and separate areas for large and small dogs, a time-out area and a program area.They also have water fountains available and benches.

So even if you do not have time to walk the dog because you are addicted to your Blackberry and have run into lampposts (yes, that happened to me until I left the iPhone at home), consider taking your dog to a dog park and letting it run around without a leash. Especially if you only own one dog, socializing is as important to dogs as it is to people.

copyright Durhamonthecheap - Floppy, the lab/collie mix from the shelter

Of course I have to include a picture of Floppy, a mutt adopted from a shelter. Even though it seems he needed to be in the picture and wanted to be the center of attention, it actually took some coaxing to get him to be in the picture. Coming from a shelter, his only home for more than two years, Floppy tried everything to please people. He was the most obedient, polite and "properly behaving" dog I have encountered. I actually had to encourage him to be a little bit on the wild side.

This brings me to the final point of this post, just like everyday should a walking your dog day (not just February 22nd), you should always consider adopting a dog from a local shelter when you are contemplating adding a dog to your household.