Park Postcards:

I know that people are fond of saying that dogs look like their owners, but I’m not sure its true. I think that what happens that their owners may type their dogs. Some may end up looking like the master, but most just look like the dogs they are.

As I have mentioned Piedmont Park has a large social strata. One of the major groups is the dog owners. You see them walking through the park each morning, dog on leash and plastic poop bag in hand. They cut across the rest of the social groups from racial to sexual to groups you don’t even want to know about. Each of them out “walking the dog.”

I have decided that the owner and dog fall into three groups. There may be more and as I uncover them you’ll be the first to know. There is the “real dog” people, the “dog dog” people, and the “cute dog” people.

The “real dog” people usually, but not always, have the big dogs. The Shepherds, the Labs, the Huskies and so on. The owner is usually from the early twenties to middle age and in terrific shape. These are the folks that run with the dog or play Frisbee with the dog. If you look closely you see that the owner is sweating but the dog feels its being held back. These dogs are well trained and even though they are the biggest of the breads they never really seem to pose a threat to the general non-dog owning public.

The “dog dog” people usually, but not always have the mid-sized dog and the owners come from all age groups. The mixed breed is the major player in this group. The masters always look like the folk who at one time thought that owning a dog would be a cool thing. They could use it for companionship, maybe protection or even as a friend. But, what has turned out to be the case, is that now they have this “thing” that they must take care of before the neighbors call the cops. These dogs always look as unhappy as their owners. For the general non-dog owner walking the park, these are the ones you have to watch closely as you pass. They are ready at a moments notice to take their resentment out on any leg that comes close.

Then there is the “cute dog” owner. These folks are either in their late teens to late twenties, to the oldest group, which runs from the mid-forties and up. Very rarely do you see anybody in the middle age in this group. These are the smaller to small dogs people. The Poodles, the Terriers, the Schnauzers, and God help us; the Pomeranians fall in this group. These dogs all have more energy that the Tasmanian devil and are willing to take it out on just about anybody that comes down the path. Even though aggressive they do it in a “cute” way. The sole purpose for the existence of these dogs is to meet people. You know like the “My, My, what a cute little fellow, he seems so friendly and cuddly and all… say you want to come over to my place and get naked?” Enough said.

This morning I saw the dog and that defies all categories. It was smaller than a Pekingese, or a Chihuahua, I have no idea what it was. A young lady who, while in terrific shape like the “real dog” group, appeared to have no interest in her dog even though she was out walking it. You could tell this because the little guy was trying to pull her down the road. He was straining at the leash, jumping ahead and against, looking back over his shoulder. It looked like he was saying, “come on, let’s go, get a move on, I have things to do here.” But the owner had her cell phone plastered to her head and didn’t seem to know that the little guy was trying to get her to get with it. The dog was so small that no matter how hard it was trying it wasn’t making any kind of impression. This dog was so tiny that at first, as they were approaching me, it looked like the girl had a hold on a stiff leash with nothing attached to the leash.

But all I could think as I watched this pair go by was, “look at that, that girl is out walking her rat.” Okay, not an original line, but this is the first time I ever seen that it could have be true.