I’ve often said, “You can tell how hot it is by the length of their tongues.” Today’s 90-degree afternoon prompted lots of long-tongue panting after just a few minutes of racing around the dog park.
A beautiful black lab and a friendly springer spaniel greeted us at the dog park gate. They had been there a while, so they were a little tired from the heat. Before long a couple of airedales joined us, but they were all about swimming in the pond.
Two five-gallon buckets and a small bowl of water were under the pavilion. All the dogs lapped up what sounded like quarts of water every few minutes.
The spaniel was on high alert, racing after electric bikes and scooters on the other side of the fence. Our great dane joined him for a few chases, but soon tired of that game. The same spaniel jumped the fence and took a dip in the pond, too.
The lab must have been there for a while. He laid down in a nice cool spot in the dirt and watched everyone else run around. His owner shared that the far gate to the pond was only held shut by a bungee cord. His dogs knew how to push their way in and out when they felt like taking a dip. I told them not to teach my dogs any tricks like that.
A Disney-themed birthday party was in full swing in a pavilion just outside the dog park fence. Partiers were surrounded by pink and purple balloons as familiar movie songs filled the air.
When I took a walk around the pond to prompt our big dog to sprint and burn off energy, I saw no dogs in the adjacent small dog park. Zero. Too hot I guess.
My two happily trotted to the gate when I said, “Ready to go for a ride?” Half-an-hour was enough to wear them out. When we got home, they continued to pant for another thirty minutes, before stretching out on the cool tile floor.
I’m glad we went for a short ride across town to the dog park on a steamy afternoon. They’ll crash for the rest of the night, tired and content.
Waite for it... 