Our dog Fenway loves walking around town. She strolls along the streets of downtown Hammonton with her dogwalker in all kinds of weather.
With us, she wanders our neighborhood or through the cemetery.
She loves all the different sights and smells. OK. Mostly the smells. Her nose is always twitching.
Her tail is like a big flag and she tends to strut. She walks with an attitude as if the sidewalk is a runway at a high-end fashion show.
This spring I am looking to find new places to take her. It’s good for dogs to experience new places and smells.
So I have decided to bring her to different neighborhoods and let her check out some new territory.
She may make new four-legged friends and maybe even a couple of new two-legged ones.
It is my thinking that by doing this I may learn something new about the neighborhoods we explore. Maybe, I will see a new house that escaped my notice when I drove through.
Or maybe a garden will capture my attention and make me green with envy. Everyone knows my thumbs are black.
It’s possible that a car will catch my eye and inspire my future automobile purchase.
And even possibly, I will make a new friend or two.
Stranger things have happened.
Let me ask you reader. Where do you like to walk with your pets or your friends?
Is there a favorite area you like to explore on a regular basis?
We often see the same dogs walking past our house on a daily basis.
Some of the dogs, I know. Their humans look familiar but I do not always know their name.
Our doodle watches from her perch on the couch in our front room. She sometimes barks. Not in anger but in a plaintive tone as if she wants to go play with the fellow canine.
When we walk together, our dog likes to stop every now and then and take a good look around the surroundings. She loves to pause for a moment in Veterans Park and sit on a bench (or maybe that’s me that likes that moment of peace).
We will begin exploring once the weather stays above 60 but below 90 degrees. She and I both like the more moderate temperatures.
My sneakers and her leash are ready to go on a new adventure together this spring and early summer.
So if you see me, my husband and our fluffy, creamy-white Goldendoodle walking through your neighborhood you will know why. If you want us to stop by, let me know.
Gina Rullo is the editor-in-chief of The Hammonton Gazette.