Have I Got Dogs For You!

Wednesday, June 1:

Getting started is a truly slow process. At home our Fritz always seems so eager to join his pals in the park – but as soon as we reach the first gate he is engulfed in a swoon of enchantment at the first good sniff and thereafter each blade of grass and every low-lying bush needs to be sampled in turn. This morning our progress is further impeded by the quick arrival of his kinsman, Pepper, heading in the opposite direction. Fritz is just settling into a comfortable squat against a black trash bag, abandoned in the walkway, when he is broadsided, mid-grunt, by his pal. I would say that here we have not one but two inappropriate gestures but then Fritz and Pepper are both Miniature Schnauzers and, as such, they are always up to some mischief.

No sooner have I scooped up the offending ordure than Mrs. Margaret Gaines proffers her hand, “It is Dr. Linick, isn’t it?” I am being greeted by an American School mom, the parent of two former students whose academic progress in America must now be accounted for. No wonder Fritz and I are late arrivals on the green of Paddington Recreation Ground.

Almost immediately Fritz is jumped by another special pal, the mostly Yorkie Charlie, and they are off on their rambles and wrestles. Michael, Charlie’s owner, the man we could call the king of our park because of his role in making all dog owners welcome here, is deep in conversation with the owner of Tara, the Kerry Blue. Also present are Winnie the Pug and her co-owner Dan, Sparkie – a Yorkie youngster – accompanied by his owner, Georgie and by her sister Jean, old Albert with the mostly Lab Ryan, and Ronnie with Rosie, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Most of these people now head for an early coffee at the café in the centre of the park. Michael and I like to get a little more exercise out of our pets but we too succumb after half an hour and find the others jammed around a large table under the eaves of the café  – it is a grey, chilly, threatening morning. Michael pulls up a little table as a kind of outrider and we sit down. Hanna is already here with her dogs, George and Spadge, and Dan’s partner Davide soon joins us, as does my wife Dorothy. We even have two non-owners, young Sue (well, she is younger than the other Sues we know) and the visiting Anne from Australia – they come every morning just to be part of the unique society of dog people who inhabit the grasslands of Paddington Rec every morning between 9:00 and 10:30.

Today is Winnie’s second birthday and she is certainly very prominent in the tribe of canines settled at Michael’s feet for the ingestion of morsels of toast and sausage. She is the special favourite of Elion, the chef, who now brings an extra sausage as a birthday gift. Michael has a unique charisma as a purveyor of doggie treats, making each animal sit calmly, wait his or her turn, behave like a proper dog. This doesn’t prevent the birthday girl from shouldering the other contenders aside ­– switching from one side of the queue to the other in order to increase her chances ­– nor from showing occasional signs of ill-temper when thwarted. Today Michael twice announces, “All finished!” as he completes a plate of titbits – only to have a disappointed Winnie turn immediately to the next dog (Charlie today) in order to vent her frustrations by boxing his ears.

I count eleven people in the long line that forms for the exit walk. Dan has brought a small soccer ball with him and the dogs enjoy chasing this along the pathways, but as we near the Essendine gate there is an incident. Fritz is a great ball hawk and his passion for this toy conflicts with Winnie’s sense of ownership. Pretty soon there is an angry interchange between the two animals (a phenomenon not that rare when it comes to the feisty Pug) and Dan has to step in to separate the contestants. I am no use, since I have been laughing throughout this exchange. Collared himself, Fritz is lead from the park after a very pleasant morning