Early morning at the dog park

There are dog owners who make it a habit to get their dogs out early to the dog park every, or nearly every morning. Rain or shine, snow or hail (well, maybe not hail…) I have always thought that would be nice but doubted we’d ever be among the crowd that managed it – I mean, with two kids that need to get off to school, breakfast to be eaten, making sure everything is sorted for the day, who could manage it??!?? We can’t even get out of bed in time to walk the dogs around the block after breakfast and before the school bus comes, let along get to the dog park!!

Well, last Friday we did!

After unsuccessfully pushing the kids all week to get up & out & at’em early enough to do even a short dog walk, I figured – well, who needs to sit down to eat breakfast anyhow? So I told the kids to be ready for a surprise in the morning, then once they were in bed packed a portable eat-in-the-car breakfast, made sure school lunches were ready to be put in backpacks, loaded dog leashes, water bottle & poop bags in the car, set everybody’s glass of milk & morning vitamins ready on the counter, and put toothbrushes, toothpaste & water by the door.

At 6:10 I was up, dressed and waking the kids, telling them to get up, we’re going to the dog park!! At first they didn’t believe me, but they quickly responded and we were out the door by 6:25, at the dog park by 6:40 – the first car in the parking lot!

We took a long walk, exploring several trails we’d not been on before. The dogs loved their romp through fields, bushes & forest. What with the morning dew they got rather wet and bedraggled, but none the less enthusiastic.

By 7:40 we were back at the parking lot and headed to school. As the kids hadn’t eaten all their breakfast yet, we finished it on the way to school and then brushed teeth beside the car out on the street. The kids were a couple minutes late getting in – next time we’ll know to leave the park a few minutes earlier.

But it was fun and the kids said they want to do it again. Amazing how it’s easier to get out of bed to go to the dog park than to get out of bed to do morning chores and eat at the table… We’ll see if the enthusiasm is still there once mornings are dark and cold and it starts snowing…