Marley and... Rocket

By Josh Grossberg on March 31, 2008 11:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) |

This is what dog parks are all about:

It was a beautiful, blue skied, windy, cool day. Not that would know it because I stayed in bed till noon. To reward Rocket for letting me sleep (he usually wakes me up at 7:30 a.m. sharp), we drove down to the San Pedro dog park. The SP park has a different vibe from the other parks we go to, mostly because it's a lot smaller. It can get pretty claustrophobic in there and sometimes the people fight more than the dogs do, but that's fodder for another post. Anyway, Rocket, the 17-month-old maniac, does what he usually does, which is bark at the fluffy animals across the fence in the small-dog park. But after a few minutes, a young dog named Marley showed up and the two became instant friends. Marley has as much energy as Rocket does and the two of the rassled for more than an hour. They found the one spot of shade in the park -- yet another topic for future posts -- and rolled around in the dirt together. Marley is less than a year old, part pit bull and part mastiff. Or so his owner thinks. His owner, is a man named Harte, who told me how Marley warmed his way into the family's life, how pit's sometimes get a bad rap, how he enjoys reading the Daily Breeze and how annoying it is that there are now so many dogs named Marley. While our dogs played, me and Harte made small talk about our jobs, the world and mostly dogs. We both marveled at how the two crazy pups hit it off. It was the perfect dog-park experience: Nice weather, dogs tiring each other out and humans pleasantly whiling away a Sunday afternoon. I think I sense a playdate in our future!

Then me and Rocket came home and took naps.

1 Comments

harte

said:

I must say that one of the major enjoyments of owning an animal is the pleasure one gets not only from his or her pet, but of observing the deep affection that the other person has for their loved one. The outpouring of love towards a simple animal...in this case a dog...is a beautiful thing to see. Knowing that Rocket was rescued from the pound by his owner and given a new lease on life makes this even better!

I can't think of better way to spend a few hours on a Sunday afternoon!

Harte

p.s.
Rocket not only tired my Marley out, he rolled him around in the dirt and detritus of the dog park so much that I'll be vacuuming it out of my car for the next two weeks!

March 31, 2008 12:05 PM

Daily Breeze reporter Donna Littlejohn has shared her homes with a succession of wonderful, funny, and occasionally difficult canines -- Muffin, Fritz, Ellie, Mercy, Pilgrim and now Cowboy, an Australian shepherd-border collie, and Tess, a border collie. From strong-willed terriers to weirdly obsessed Australian shepherds, they've invaded her world with boundless energy, wet noses, muddy paws and soggy tennis balls. But they've really brought so much more than that -- like laughter and joy, some unexpected life lessons, and more than a few tears along the way.

E-mail Donna at donna.littlejohn@dailybreeze.com.

Josh Grossberg grew up with the usual array of animals: goldfish, dogs, hamsters, parakeets and turtles. He now owns the loudest dog in the South Bay(Video: Rocket the Dog) and is the least popular person on his block. He spends his free time in dog parks, pet shops and always has an extra plastic bag in his pocket just in case. He also has a cat.

E-mail Josh at josh.grossberg@dailybreeze.com.

Marley and... Rocket

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