Weekend Weather

Anyone else got Spring Fever? We didn't until this past weekend's beautiful weather. What a tease! I'm still dreaming of it right now as I look out the window and see the cold, wet rain coming down. Clint and I don't have everything in common, but one thing we do share is a love for nature and the outdoors. We simply couldn't wait to get outside on Saturday. So, we packed up the car and took Chloe on her first trip to the park. One of the parks here in Clarksville has a "Bark Park" and we thought it would be a good idea to introduce Chloe to other dogs. (As suggested by Cesar, the Dog Whisperer...thanks again Joe and Lo for the book.) Even though we took her to the small dog fenced in area, she was still the smallest dog in the place. There were plenty of other puppies, but just not nearly as small. It took her a little while to warm up to the whole butt-sniffing from random pooches, but soon she was "greeting" the others just the same. She only got scared a few times by some bigger dogs chasing her. However, there was one dog that became obsessed with her. He would not leave her alone. This dog was way older than Chloe and left me with the idea of a puppy molester. Being our first time to the Bark Park, Clint and I were unsure of dog park edict. At first, I was simply shooing the dog away from poor Chloe. After that didn't work, I had to pick her up as the dog then proceeded to jump all over my legs to get to her. I mean, how do you politely say, "Get your mangy dog on a leash and away from us?" I suppose that is the risk you take letting your dog run free with others.
We had such a great time on Saturday that we went back to the park after church on Sunday. We made the decision that Chloe was probably still a bit too small to go back to the Bark Park. Instead, we packed a lunch and some dog food and had a picnic. She really enjoyed sitting in the open field and chasing us. She is getting so good a fetch. The weather couldn't have been more perfect! Walking back to the car, we realized we have a regular Miss America on our hands. You would have thought Chloe was the Taco Bell dog. People were pointing from long distances and walking over to her, kids were jumping off the swings to come running up to pet her. It was really funny actually. It took us an extra 10 minutes to get to the car because everyone wanted to see the "little black puppy!" I told Chloe to not let it get to her head, but she defiantly enjoyed the attention. She did really good with all the people and kids. It was so cute to see these little children coming up to her and getting all excited. I think they loved her so much because they had finally found something smaller than they were!