Our personal dog park

Shhhhh!

It is not a park and there are no other dogs, but that's what makes it the perfect dog park for us. It's a big swath of land that was slated for a townhouse development. The sidewalks and streets were installed, some landscaping planted and a big fence was built around the whole place. Then the economy tanked and it has sat empty ever since. So much promise for owners of a dog with energy to burn but with serious anger issues towards all living beings except humans. There was just a slight problem - no way to get in.

That was until someone crashed their car into the fence and opened up a nice gap for sneaking walking in. It wasn't us, I promise.

Wag more, Bark more

Back in the old days, a walk with the family dogs Ralph and Holly involved this: walk out the front door with the dogs. No leashes, no worries, just a stroll around the block as the dogs ran around having a blast. Our cat Brooklyn would actually come along and prance around the block too. A trip to the American River Parkway was the same, just without the cat. We had to round up the dog leashes only when we took them to the vet.

Our arsenal of dog paraphernalia for Molly continues to grow. We have several leashes and two harnesses. We tried a prong collar. We tried a combo choke collar. The Gentle Leader is the only thing that works, but getting her into requires walking her around like a Thoroughbred and then whisking it on while she blinks. It is like a miracle, but she still can be a little stinker on a walk.

It's ours, all ours!

Seeing her run like a real dog in this wide open space is a joy. With nothing to cramp her style, she is in pure half-shepherd heaven. If we could rent a few sheep with bite-proof vests on them, it just might click in her head what she was bred to do. But sheep or no sheep, we have found the Molls her romping fields. We're so happy someone put that little hole in the fence, but seriously, it wasn't us.

Freedom feels so good!

They should hide their car keys better.