The Dog Club

On my early morning walks with Bella, I've come to realize there's a culture of early risers walking their respective hounds. It's a unique group of people..most of us are not looking our best, having just rolled out of bed, into our sweats and out the door. Most of us are friendly. There's a common bond we share. We've all been nosed at, barked or whined at to go for the ritual morning stroll.

I've met lots of dogs on our morning excursions...there's Pele, the American pitt bull. He's named after the famous soccer player. Pele is 6 years old and has a bad knee. There's Otis, the chocolate lab. He's 3 and has problems listening. River is a one year old golden retriever. He loves to play fetch while his owner smokes in the park. Then there's the three shelties. Their owner rescued them all from shelters. They seem so happy just to be loved. It's funny - these are people I wouldn't ordinarily talk to on a morning stroll but our dogs have given us license to interact. It's always hard to roll out of bed whenI see those brown eyes looking at me expectantly, but I have truly enjoyed my early morning "dog club"!