Favorite Dog Park Story

By Marlyn Pleiman - Findlay, OH

My favorite dog park story was also my most traumatic one. As a pet sitter I often took client dogs to the dog park. My own dog, Jesse, often accompanied me on a lot of these sits. On this particular very early June morning the mists were still hanging over the meadows as Jesse, Chappie, a cute Lasho Apso, and I joined another couple in the dog park. They soon left and we were busy with our own play when the dog's heads came up and out of the mists to the south a herd of five deer strolled just outside the fence. This was in the early days of the dog park when wildlife was abundant both in and outside the park fence. Deer sometimes jumped the fence and were inside the park! Surprisingly, the dogs didn't bark and the deer continued to graze in the meadow.

When it was time for us to leave, I led the dogs into the entry closure between the two gates. I hooked up Chappie and was reaching for Jesse when simultaneously both of us realized the outer gate was slightly ajar. Jess threw me a “gotcha” look and was out the gate as I was lunging for him.

Now Jesse is an Alaskan racing husky. This means he loves to run and run far. He loves to chase…things like Caribou and Elk and Reindeer. And he was fast.

I sank to my knees in despair as five deer plus Jesse went sailing over the meadow fence into the farmer's corn field headed to the woods on the far side of thIn a thrice they had reached the woods. And from there where? The next county? The next state? How far do deer roam? How far would Jesse go before he gave up? Would he be lost? His navigational skills were great but now he was focused on the chase. What would Tom say? I knew. “How could you be so careless? You know how he is. Why didn't you check the gate? What were you thinking?”

Jess was smart. He went on a lot of my pet sits with me. If I told him we were going to Erin's and we made a Wal-Mart pit stop, he protested. He knew the way to my Dad's in Ft. Wayne and only would wake up as we were about to pull into the driveway…unless, of course, I tried to make an unexpected stop. But would he remember his way back from this? Had I lost my dog forever? What would happen to him? Would someone take him? Would they cook for him like we did?

Sobbing all the way back to Chappie's home, I tried to think what to do. There was another pet sit yet before I could get back to the dog park, but then what?   He certainly wouldn't be there. OK. Think. I'd notify all the park personnel; I'd call the Vets; I'd put an ad in all the papers in Northwest Ohio; I'd visit all the homes around the park.

Oh, but I had been down this road before. Once, during a move we had a cat stolen…in the cat carrier no less. The people had carted off Webster, cat carrier and all, during an inattentative moment. at a restaurant. And despite doing all those mentioned things, Webster never came back to us. Would it happen again?

All these things were going through my mind as I turned onto the road into the dog park area. I looked. Then I looked again.

Think jaded commuter waiting at the bus stop. 

Jess was sitting under the Dog Park sign staring off into space. His head swiveled towards me as I pulled up and stopped. Nonchalantly he trotted over to the proffered open door and hopped in. Then he gave me a grin that said “Now THAT's what I call a good dog park visit.”

Jesse is old now, He has had a couple of strokes, and wouldn't notice a herd of deer until they were within three feet of him. Then he would probably quizzically raise an eyebrow and think…”oh yeah, I think I remember you. Do I bark or chase?”  

The glory years are past and we don't often visit the dog park any more. But the old twinkle in the eyes shows up once in a while and I wonder if he is remembering that glorious early morning run.