Ooph and Us: Dog Park

Sometimes when a woman is with child and the urge of "I feel like doing something" comes up, I have found this is not easily suppressed or satisfied. I mean you can only go to so many movies, hit so many putt-putt courses, and eat so much ice cream until you feel a change of scenery is needed. Or maybe not necessarily a change of scenery, but just a scene that is always changing and going to give you something new and unexpected every time you are there. For us, one of those places is the Myrtle Beach Dog Park. Not only is it a chance for Amanda to get out of our little apartment and into some fresh air, but also a chance for the dogs to do the same. I'm not sure what their exact words would be, but we're pretty sure they are big fans from the yelping and whines that they start eliciting when you are a half mile away. I mean, all we have to say is "Who wants to go to the dog park?", and Beamer does a backflip, Bentley immediately erupts into a fit of snarling joy, and Walker pees himself from pure excitement.

The Dog Park is a huge chunk of land located on the old Air Force Base here in MB. It is amazing...there is a beach, a forest, a pond, a grassy play area, and most importantly, at least from our dogs' perspective, there are TONS of other dogs. The city maintains this area and I have to give them credit. They do a wonderful job. It is clean, which basically means you can pretty much walk through it without getting you-know-what on your shoes. They provide all the little baggies to clean up after your pet, and once this business is taken care of, which with our dogs is usually IMMEDIATELY, the dogs are free to roam, play, swim, chase, bark, and do whatever other dog adjective comes to mind. (Well, except for mate...Bentley and Beamer are missing the necessary tools and Walker is losing his soon...and besides he's much too young!!) Bentley is a tennis ball fiend and as soon as he enters the gate his sole mission is to find any old ball he can and promptly drop it at your feet to be thrown. Beamer is our odd-ball dog and he is not always the most sociable dog. I don't mean he picks fights...he is just...well...ok, just picture Dopey from the Seven Dwarfs as a dog. He is usually content to sniff out any dog that he deems a possible threat to his beloved Amanda (which is EVERY dog), chase Bentley's ball for Bentley (he's much faster than his older brother, so he gets the ball first and then drops it for Bentley to pick up), and help Walker out with any potential bullies (which is any dog chasing Walker). If you watch Beamer closely, you sometimes will see his head actually spinning because there is so much he feels he needs to be a part of. Thats our Beamer!! And then there's Walker (you might remember him from the famed "Candle Stealer" video) who is all puppy. He loves to chase or be chased by any dog up to it. I told you he recently learned how to swim and it was here at his beloved Dog Park where he accomplished said feat. It's so much fun to see him performing his new skill. All I do is tell him to find a stick and he knows its water time.

Whether its throwing Bentley's ball, coaxing Beamer to "act like a dog", or sending Walker into the deep, the Dog Park is a wonderful place for both humans and dogs to come together and enjoy the outdoors. More often than not, we all come home worn out, but definitely looking forward to our next outing!

These pics don't even begin to do justice to all the excitement and activity one has at a Dog Park outing, but I figured I would share a few and let the dogs show off!! Enjoy: