The Dangers of Parque Paraiso, Oh My! By Star

I'm about two years old and mom says I'm resembling a teenager trying to be independent and not listening to her and dad all the time when they call. And, as a teenager I guess, I'm learning (or perhaps not) that this may lead to trouble.

As you know from previous posts, I just LOVE Parque Paraiso. What is not to love about this gorgeous park, really?

And now that I'm allowed off the leash when I go there I can run, smell, and get all the exercise I need and want. We go to Parque Paraiso every day and most of the time I play catch with mom and dad or play with other dogs, if they are around. I'm pretty good and most of the time I come when mom or dad call. But once in a while... well... you know... I may go deaf.

The other day we went to the park late in the morning when there weren't that many people around. I had woken up a bit frisky and although I had been running around for almost an hour I wasn't quite ready when mom and dad said that it was time to go. They trusted me and left me off the leash as we started to leave the park. And then we walked by the chickens... we always go past the chickens on our way out.

But this time they were not where they were supposed to be, like in the above picture. They were running  around the park as if they owned it, and the rooster was up on a metal structure used by people to exercise making all kinds of noises and enticing me to play with him.

All the chickens were frisky and so we started a game of chase. I was after the chickens and mom and dad were after me. But then the danger came when the owner of the chickens came after me also and she was very angry and mean. She threw a small stick at me and then she went for a big piece of wood like a 2x4. My mom told her not to throw it at me but she was determined. Finally I decided I better listen and let mom catch me and put me on the leash. Mom was very angry at me and at the lady who was really going to hurt me. She told dad that she probably would have ended up in jail if that lady had hit me with that big piece of wood because she was sure she would have hit the lady back. People had come to watch the chase of the chickens and the crazy gringos and the lady with the stick and they were laughing at the whole thing.

I pretended to be sorry but deep inside I couldn't help it ... I had a big smile.

Mom, Can You Please Read? --- A Park in Cuenca by Star

When my mom choose this house to rent, she was told and saw that the largest park in Cuenca was just five or six blocks from the house. So as soon as we got here mom had to show me this park. When we got to the park mom saw the following sign from the street.

Of course, she didn't bother to get closer so she could read the sign, instead she interpreted the picture and decided dogs were not allowed in the park. WRONG! Mom was really annoyed and went on and on for a long time about why wouldn't they let dogs in the park. Two days ago mom and I were walking again, and she decided that perhaps she could see an area where dogs were allowed. As she got closer to the sign she realized that had she read instead of jumping to conclusions she would have known that it's only dogs without a leash that are not allowed in the park!  This of course makes perfect senses, except for all the street dogs. I wonder if they can read the sign and know that hey don't have a leash, so they don't go in. Hmmmm... I will observe and report.

At any rate, mom was elated to find we could go in and discover this place. And so we did! I was so proud of her for trying once more. Look at me, this is my "I'm proud of my mom" face.

This is a park, I'm telling you. It's called El Paraiso (Paradise), and a paradise it is. It's a very big park. Lots of sports fields for kids to play in, a duck pond, lots of green space and trees and flowers, and of course the river. It's a real special place and I'm sure we'll be going there every day.

This park is so big that we may be able to find a place to play ball off leash. We saw some dogs doing that. It will be awesome to have a place to run, that's one thing I really miss. Mom told me she may try to see if they can dedicate a space to a dog park. Who knows! What I would really love to see is some real agility equipment. Mom makes me jump logs and rocks serve in place of the table ... it's a joke really, but I go along with her. I miss my agility classes, my doggie friends and my agility teacher, Robert. He was the best. Maybe I can get him to come visit. I'm not the best agility dog there is, but I have fun. My classmate, Dancer, on the other hand is something else. I loved to watch him go. He is wild. Boy I sure miss agility. Hopefully we can find a place where we can practice here.

Now, I thought you would like to see for yourself how beautiful this park is; so, I've included some pictures below.

And, of course mom had to take a picture of the ducks....

So boring... I just had to yawn ...

Until the next report... keep away from the ducks.