First Walk in Central Park

In order to visit Clover in Connecticut, we rented a car that needed to be returned this morning about a mile from the apartment. Clover went along for the ride so we could take a long walk home through Central Park together.  You can see the feet of the benches in this little photo towards the beginning of the adventure.

While returning the car, he wiggled out of his harness and started to go into the street. Thankfully, the cars were all stopped at a red light and I was able to snatch him up without anyone getting hurt. Of course, I have since tightened the harness but it is clear that there are some aspects of dog ownership that I will be learning as I go.

There were so many happy dog owners in the park who were friendly with calm dogs excited to meet Clover. I learned that he is scared by large dogs-- no matter how friendly. There was a beautiful Portuguese Water Dog named Milo who kept trying to get Clover to play with a toy but he hid under the benches instead. When Milo walked away, Clover followed him for about 2 blocks.

He is wonderful with toddlers, as they don't all know how to pet dogs. One little boy gave him a kiss on his back and other one touched his tail. It makes me a bit nervous to have him interact with children, as he is clearly docile and sweet but babies are babies and he is an animal.

Much like babies, Clover is certain everyone is happy to see him and walks up to all expecting a new friend. During our walk, there was another dog we saw who had a lot of similarities-- except he was about 100 lbs and looks like he is part greyhound. They played nicely together but now I am nervous about him getting really big.

It started pouring rain when we were very close to the part of the park closest to the apartment. We waited for it to let up with a group of tourists by the event space at the Boathouse. In spite of our best efforts, we still both ended up pretty wet by the time we got home. Clover was completely exhausted. Mission accomplished!