City dogs

Being without dogs is a strange sensation for me. Generally my own dogs and my own fosters keep me busy enough that I don't pay that much attention to others. (There's a line from MASH that goes: "Minding my own business is a full time job, in my spare time it's my hobby.") But, walking in NYC, I am noticing every dog I see.



There are the early morning dog walks with owners, generally just a short one to take care of business. Then, about midday, I'm seeing a lot of paid dog walkers, probably would-be actors and dancers trying to pay the bills. In the evenings after work is when we see the most dogs with owners, getting out and about for a good time. Then again late evening, everyone does a quick business walk before bedtime.



I think about how our own dogs would handle city life. Emmylou would love it, people everywhere, and she would want to greet and speak with all of them. Cabell would like it too, although not quite as enthusiastically. Molly would be terrified being surrounded by nothing but concrete, buildings, and cars. She's not happy unless she's got grass under her feet and room to run. Bremo would side with Molly. He's led a very sheltered life at our house and knows nothing of the outside world and cares about it even less. Gypsy would hate it because there is too much going on that she couldn't control and people would be constantly violating her personal privacy zone, coming too close to her and her dad. Zachary wouldn't know what to think, but he'd be happy is Clay was around.



There are lots of small breed dogs as one would expect for city dwellers. But I've also seen ridgebacks and standard poodles. Among decent sized dogs, the most common breed I've seen here in mid-town Manhattan is the Bulldog. With their short legs and low key demeanor, they are probably pretty easy to exercise and happy being couch potatoes. I've seen more unneutered dogs than expected, and I'm not too happy about that, it just goes to show that the south doesn't have a monopoly on ignorance.