The dog park

In addition to other official dog parks around town (Arroyo Verde park), Ventura has an unofficial dog park at what is known as Cemetery Park -- officially it's Memorial Park, but it's built over an old cemetery so everyone calls it Cemetery Park. There is a big old sign that says all dogs must be on a leash. The sign prohibits other things too, like skateboards, bicycles and remote control planes. Some days I count how many activities prohibited by the sign are occurring, sometimes it's all of them. It warms my heart to see such civil disobedience. It's all anti-Establishment-y, dude.

We foud the park when we were on our way to KFC last year. We go to KFC for the dogs because, for some reason, dogs love KFC more than just about anything. Personally, I think it is among the most disgusting of the fast foods. Jersey -- our old cocker spaniel just LOVED it -- and our new guys really get a kick out of it. As we passed Cemetery Park going the back way to KFC from our house, we noticed a bunch of people with dogs. I'd seen people with dogs there before and I always thought it was a obedience class or something. This time I noticed that the dogs were all running around, so it didn't seem like a class. We stopped to see what was what.

Our guys just loved it. The park is built so that dogs more or less stay away from the roads. They can just get out and run around and play and socialize (read: sniff butts). Because the park isn't official there's no big dog/small dog division. Our little guys can sometimes be intimidated by the bigger dogs, but by and large, it's been good for them to know how to handle the big guys. Brindle's way of "handling" them is to snap and jump at them when they sniff her. Fuser loves to chase the big guys when they chase their balls and Rascal just looks terrified and waits for them to go away, which is a huge improvement for him.

Each day we take the dogs for a run around their park. It's such a positive energy place for the most part, with happy dogs and happy people all doing happy things. Occasionally some jerk or jerks will try to deflate the happiness quotient -- one couple seemed intent of getting everyone to put their dogs on leashes by screaming at people and calling the police. I haven't seen them back.

Another guy, who is a regular with his dogs Xena and Lola, started screaming at me the other day because he'd seen Brindle poopie and although I said I'd get it, he proceeded to start getting hysterical, yelling across the park about how I needed to jump up and get it right then. I recommended yoga to him. And BTW when I went to find the poopie it wasn't there, but Brindle seems to be pooping when she's peeing, so Mr. Anger Management-challenged could have just been wrong.

But for the most part the park is usually the best place in town to recharge the mental batteries. Not only is the energy positive and joyous, as only happy dogs can make it, but it also has some of the best views of the pier and the Channel Islands. Who can beat it -- frolicking dogs and sunsets?

The Cocksman

Remember the phrase from Wedding Crashers? I've seen this guy around town for years. He lives about three blocks from me and he always is walking his dogs. When I first met him, we had Jersey and he had Jane. I have no idea what his name is and he doesn't know mine. We don't ask each other, nor do we really care. We do ask about the dogs. He is really non-threatening and tends to have a lot of women he chats with on his walks. So Rob dubbed him The Cocksman because Rob's funny that way (in the head).

He rescues retrievers, who tend to be old because people who obviously have no souls give up dogs when they get old. He's had Jane for a while and she's getting old, which is sad to see. He rescued Fred, but Fred died and now he has Linda, who is more demanding than the other two have been because she was mistreated.

I hadn't seen him since Jersey died, so I introduced him to our gang. We told him the story of each dog, one rescue (Fuser), one stray (Rascal) and one adoptee (Brindle). After we lost Jersey we decided it would be best to give homes to dogs who needed them. We said it was in memory of her, but actually Jersey hated other dogs and would see this as defiling her spirit. We did adopt so many to fill the hole Jersey left when she died. I'd hoped that by having more, I wouldn't be so sad when they died, and dogs have such short lifespans. But now I realize I'll be just as sad -- times three. Still, they are the most loving, sweet souls and they bring us such doggie joy.

Colin!!!!!!!!

The best thing about the dog park to our dogs is seeing Colin. Colin lives right next to Cemetery Park, along with his girlfriend Tracey. Colin also loves dogs, so he makes a big deal out of seeing them. This makes them even more crazy about him.

Rascal especially loves Colin. Colin tends to single him out for a little extra attention because Rascal has such a Sad Sack quality to him. Rascal was found wandering around in Oxnard somewhere by one of Lindsay's friends. He was filthy, underweight and had exposed patches of skin because he's allergic to fleas. He's a terrier/poodle mix, we think. When we got him, his eyes were cloudy and we thought he may have a vision problem. But they seem to have cleared up, so maybe it was a vitamin deficiency.

Poor Rascal was obviously severely neglected and he tends to be really skittish when he's in a new situation. When we first got him he had to be kept on leash at the park or he wouldn't get out of the car. He'd actually climb up Rob and me in terror when other dogs approached him. He still thinks dripping hoses and outdoor faucets are the greatest thing known to man because back when he was a stray I'm sure they were the highlight of his pitiful existence. I keep trying to tell him he can have all the spring water he wants, but he still has his little stray habits.

Rascal's life is good now and he shows it every chance he gets. He just loves to run up and give big old hugs, using both of his front legs to hold on tight. And even though he's bigger, he lets Fuser beat him when they wrestle, which makes Fuser feel like the big dog he isn't. Brindle saw Rascal as an interloper at first, but she's decided he's OK, especially because he seems to understand that she is The Queen.

The possibility of seeing Colin makes the park even More Fun for the dogs. Selective reinforcement is always more effective than constant reinforcement, according to the old college texts. The dog park is the highlight of their days and they plan around it, waiting by the front window starting around 2 p.m. It's also the highlight of most of my days. After all, who can resist such happiness?