Dusty and me

The intense suns of summer began arriving here in South Florida a couple weeks ago. And I started getting distracted and a little lazy, depriving Dusty of her regular visits to the dog park. Taking a breather ---------- On that note, two things started happening in the past few days -- the guilts about it started playing on my brain and Dusty has been showing signs of restlessness. But I got motivated this morning and put the girl in the Kia Koach about 8 a.m. for the short drive north to Gary B Jones Park for People and Pups. We weren't there long. We had some cloud cover and a hint of a breeze, so it was reasonably pleasant in the shade. But Dusty only needed about a half-dozen ball-chasing sprints to become gassed as the temperature moved into the 90s. Here's one of them (note that she's mastered the art of chasing and retrieving but not necessarily of returning): It was enough -- mission accomplished. I have a wiped-out greyhound sprawled sleepi...

It's nesting season for burrowing owls, and they were out all over the place this morning at Tephford Park. Dusty and I had a nice peaceful walk among the owls nests and the passing bicyclists on the west end of Cypress Park Greenway as our Plan B after what turned out to be a terrifying visit to Tamarac Veterans Park. Are you looking at me? ---------- Most Sundays, we'll head to Veterans Park, adjacent to Gary B Jones Park for People and Pups, for the weekly Tamarac Community Farmers Market and take a long walk on the east end of the Greenway. Dusty loves all the smells coming out of the farmers market -- especially the distinctive aroma coming out of the big barbecue smoker that is always there. One thing Dusty doesn't like is small kids -- they're too aggressive and unpredictable for Dusty's taste. If she sees one walking in our direction, she'll pull away in the opposite direction as far and as fast as her 4-foot leash will allow. She wants no part ...

N ot too many things in the world Dusty likes more than a romp at the dog park. I like to get her out for about 30 minutes a couple times a week to let her burn off some energy. It's still easy to get outside in some pleasant weather in the mornings before the sun gets too intrusive. Taking a breather but guarding her prize: She'll grab that ball and play keep-away for a few minutes if I make a grab for it ---------- I used to buy cheap tennis balls for her. But I've discovered she loves those squeaky rubber spike balls -- even though the squeakies don't last for more than about three minutes. After those things die, you can hear the air making compression sounds inside the ball when she chews on it. But she doesn't mind -- she loves chewing those things, and the balls themselves seem indestructible. Supposedly, the spikes massage her teeth and gums and provide some dental-health benefit. I dropped a link to one for sale at Amazon.com at the end of this ...