Hot Dog in the City

This past weekend, the weather was exceptionally perfect in northeast Ohio, making for an excellent opportunity to get Woody out of the house after a long week of dealing with me working late and attending various events every night. The bf and I decided to go on a "hike" at the Cuyahoga Valley National Park towpath. Why is "hike" used in quotation marks? Because I think in order to really say you went on a hike, you have to actually go into the woods, walk through the cliffs and trees, and experience natures winding trails. What we did was more of a three-mile walk next to a busy road on the edge of a national park.

I love being outside in the summer. I love everything about nature. But I am far from outdoorsy. To be outdoorsy, I should be able to be one with nature without complaining about bugs and the artificial threat of bears (though, lately, this seems like it could be more of a reality). Woody absolutely enjoyed the walk, though he picked up about five ticks on the way that prompted me to finally purchase flea and tick medication. Before you say I'm a bad dog mom for not doing so previously, just remember that we live in the city, and ticks are not something you find downtown. At the end of our journey, we got in the car and drove to a suburban park in Independence, one that didn't require much on-foot navigation and proved to be tick-free.

Bird and people watching is fun.

As we sat there and I reflected on the partially man-made, partially God-given world around me, I began to think about how awesome it is to have a dog that needs to be as active as mine. Sure, lazy dogs are nice because their likelihood of being unpredictably spastic is low, but how far would they get on a three-mile towpath, let alone in the woods?

Whether your dog is high energy like mine or laid back, there is something for all canines to enjoy in the summer. Aside from pretending I know how to be an experienced hiker, other activities Woody and I love to do include:

• Walking around The Jake during game evenings
• Discovering new routes around downtown
• Re-discovering new sights and smells around old ones
• Finding new parks and just hanging out for awhile
• Dog parks that have small dog areas, of course
• Fetch at the dog park when no one else is there, which is a rare feat.

If Woody had a choice, I think he could spend all day in the sun, and I'm perfectly okay with that. Most of the time.

This is Woody enjoying the new park near the convention center.

Meanwhile, this is Woody trying to scalp tickets outside Progressive Field with little success.