Category: dog park

WNBA Seattle Storm Basketball Game Surprises My Mom

Mom came home later than usual after the game last night. I was more than ready for my evening walk. But she was in a great mood.

“The game was not at all boring! The score was never more than 5 or 6 points apart! We went into overtime!” she exclaimed, hooking up my leash. “Can you believe it? The reserves held off Taurasi and Pondexter! We’d have won if we hadn’t gotten a couple of really bad calls from the referees. WNBA officiating is so bad.”

“Right now, mom, the call is one of a more down-to-earth kind,” I said.

Nobody at the rescue group warned me. If you’re looking for an owner, try to choose someone who’s NOT a basketball fan. And my mom should listen to her friend Bill more often. He was right about the game, wasn’t he? So she needs to pay attention when he advocates spoiling all dogs rotten. No diets for his dogs.

Accepting a treat in the Dog Park

Lindsay, who was Dog Park Steward until recently, is exempt from the “No Treats” ban imposed by my mom. Lindsay likes to sit on the wall surrounded by a bunch of dogs. That’s her big black lab, Jasper, on the right. Jasper is an official service dog. He’s all trained and he looks awfully impressive when he’s wearing his tags.

Hmm…have you noticed a pattern to the recent pictures in this blog? All about treats. Is my mom trying to tell me something?

Dog begging for treats in dog park

Here I am in Regrade Dog Park in Belltown, right in the heart of Seattle. It’s a warm Saturday afternoon. My mom wants me to get some exercise so I’ll be tired when she goes out tonight. So we walked over here. That’s over a mile, Mom. More like a mile and a half.  I thought I was getting adopted, not joining a hiking club.

This nice man had a box of  treats. I tried…and tried. But mom said, “No way. I don’t want Gracie begging for food in the dog park. We came here so she could get some exercise.”

I can be very persistent when it comes to treats. Mom thinks I’ll stop begging if I never get any reward. We all know: it’s an uphill battle.

Dog Park hosts birthday party

My mom’s just getting around to posting all the photos she took of Linday’s birthday on Thursday, August 27th. Here’s Lindsay eating a piece of her own birthday cake, carefully ignoring the dogs who have their Eye on the Prize.

See the red arrow pointing to me? Yes. There I am, right next to Lindsay’s official service dog, Jasper, the black lab. See, mom, it’s not about the cake. We’re just wishing Lindsay a Happy Birthday. Anyway, don’t the rules say, “Bring food at your own risk?” Well, we’re the risk.

Best sight-seeing in Seattle: Magnuson Dog Park

Yesterday my mom’s friend Bob was still visiting from Florida. Mom’s known Bob for years, since they were both professor at U of Alaska in Fairbanks.

“So what do you want to do today?” Mom asked Bob. “I have a brilliant idea. Let’s take Gracie to Magnuson Dog Park!”

They were a little worried that the skies would be gray. Maybe we’d even get some rain. Humans are ridiculous. They run at the sight of just one raindrop.

Luckily for all of us, we had a magnificent day. Mom’s camera batteries died so she didn’t get the photos she wanted but otherwise I got to go wading. I became special friends with an Australian something-or-other that looks like a border collie.

Bob is an outdoors kind of guy and Mom is the ultimate city gal. So Magnuson was a good compromise. And since Bob doesn’t have a dog, Mom wanted to make sure he got a great dog experience while visiting. I sat on Bob’s lap on the bus to Magnuson and most of the way home.

Then Bob treated Mom to dinner at an Indian restaurant since Mom had treated him to the basketball game on Saturday night. Mom had a glass of wine and she was SO tired we ended up falling asleep early. Around midnight we woke up and Mom finally took me out for a walk. Whew…what a relief! But I’m glad we waited. I don’t want to lose my mom to a DWWI: Dog-Walking-While-Impaired.

Dog park on a busy day

My mom tells me people spend a lot of time and money learning to focus their energies. Dogs do this naturally.

For example, it’s a gorgeous day. Humans are trying to decide if they should go get coffee, go to the Farmers Market, or maybe visit the Sculpture Garden.

As a dog, I face no such decisions. I vote for the Dog Park every time. What could be better?

Here’s a scene from a couple of weeks ago. I’m behind the shaggy guy getting a bath.

Finally…dog park in spring!

As a Canine Urban Princess (a CUPPIE), I need access to the great outdoors. Here in the city we are SO luck to have this pocket park, right near downtown. It’s just over a mile from where we live, my mom says. That’s just enough distance for my paws to feel they’re getting a workout.

We have gravel and grass chips instead of grass but we have flowers and sculpture. But who cares? I’m the kind of dog who’s into sniffing the landscape, not admiring it from afar.

Dog deserves to ride in style.

My mom and I took a long walk today. We walked all the way to Belltown’s Regrade Park. That’s about a mile and a half. On the way home, we usually stop at a certain bus stop on 1st Avenue & Broad, because my mom says we can get 5 buses from there: 1, 2, 13, 15 and 18. So we shouldn’t have to wait long and the last 10 minutes of our walk is uphill and less exciting.

Well, today Seattle finally had magnificent weather. We walked, as I said, to the dog park. I ran around for a few minutes but hey, I’m still tired from yesterday’s trip with Aunt Sara. And my mom said, “Let’s walk all the way home. We might as well enjoy this sunshine.”

As usual, I had other ideas. When we came to this bus stop I sat down and refused to budge.

“Come on, Gracie,” my mom said. “It’s just ten more minutes. We have to wait almost that long for a bus.”

No dice.

“Gracie, walking is good for us.”

“We walked to the park and we’re about 1/4 mile from home…maybe 1/2 mile. I’m beat.”

“Gracie, people are looking at us! They think I am a cruel, mean owner”

“You are. Nice owners don’t make dogs walk. They ride buses and cabs.”

“People think it’s funny that you want to ride the bus. You know we’re at a bus stop!”

“Of course I do. Dogs aren’t dumb. Hey mom, I’m giving you a tug on my leash. Look up…there’s a 15 closely followed by an 18. They always bunch up. All aboard!”

My mom sighs as she hands over the fare. “All this to ride just a few blocks. Gracie, you can be a high-maintenance dog.”

“I am a Canine Urban Princess, remember? A CUPPIE. Besides, I am taking lessons from Ophelia.”