81 posts tagged “dogs”
The dog park at James Island County Park is what I would consider the crown jewel of CCPRC's three dog parks.
The JICP dog park is the largest of all the dog parks located in the Charleston area, providing ample space for dogs to run around in and perhaps best of all, a lake for dogs to go swimming in.
Two beach areas provide plenty of room for dogs to run around and jump into the water. On hot days, the lake is where you'll find most of the dogs.
Two dog lock style gates for entering and exiting the park provide for smooth flow. A water fountain to the left of the gates as you enter provides water (although most dogs will just end up drinking from the lake anyway) and there's also a hose so you can hose down a muddy dog. A couple of picnic tables and the retaining wall provide a spot for people to sit down, and for some of the dogs, a bit of shade. While the dog park isn't fenced in, trees and bushes lining the perimeter of the park and the lake serve as natural barriers, although some especially motivated dogs have been known to escape the park by swimming across the lake.
Admission to JICP is $1/person, but once you're in you can avail yourself of the dog park and all the other facilities contained within the park. The dog park is the only area where dogs are allowed off leash though, so if you decide to go for a walk around the rest of the park, you'll have to put Fido back on the leash.
One of the main disadvantages of the dog park is the lack of any kind of shelter or shade. If you're there on a hot sunny day, you'd better have plenty of sun screen on. A walk through the water helps cool off the feet, but you'll have to be on the look out for dogs barrelling by, and prepare to get wet from dogs shaking off. However, if things get too hot, you can always head out and go for a walk along the many miles of shaded trails within the park and then head back for more dog park fun.
A piece of advice before going to this dog park: make sure you have a reasonably reliable recall on your dog before going. The park is a really fun place for dogs to go, and sometimes they can be reluctant to leave. If you don't have a good recall on your dog, then you're liable to end up chasing your dog around trying to catch him long after you originally planned to leave.
The next stop on the tour takes me and the dogs up to North Charleston to the Mixson neighbourhood (near the Park Circle area), an area still under development but with a dog park already.
The dog park though, is a tiny little fenced in area that would probably fit in most back yards, so I don't know that I'd really call it a dog park. However, as the fine print on the sign says, it's only a temporary dog park. Hopefully as development of the area continues it will be replaced with a much larger more permanent dog park (one where you don't have to worry about tossing a ball outside the fence.
This one I'll have to come back to in a year or so to see if anything has changed.
The dogs and I headed off downtown in search of the Hazel Parker Dog Run, the third in my list of city-run dog parks (the other two being Hampton and Ackerman).
Located on the peninsula just a block or so down from Tradd and East Bay in Hazel Parker Playground (70 East Bay St), we wandered around the playground area, but didn't see anything resembling a dog park or dog run.
There was a smallish rectangular fenced in gravel area that I suspect is the dog run, but it's currently closed off. I'm guessing the city is renovating the area.
This looks like it will be a dog-lock style entrance for the dog run.
So no dog park action today. Hazel Parker dog run will have to go back on the list to be visited again in a few months time when the city is finished their work.
Mel got adopted out today and left with her new people for a nice new home in Virginia. They seemed like nice folks and I think Mel's going to get all the love and attention she needs.
Now the dogs and I will take a bit of a break before tackling another foster.
Show us a reason to get off the computer and go outside.
Submitted by Elisheva Chana.
Why, to go to the dog park of course!
I took about 120 or so pictures of Mel at the dog park the other day, and out of all of them I ended up with 5 decent ones.
I had the camera on burst mode, so most of the pictures were just 3 shot sequences of Mel in various stages of looking up, down, to the side, away from me, taking off to check something out or trying to leave nose prints on the lens.
BTW, Mel is available for adoption so if you're interested or know someone who might be, contact the folks at Wild Heir Lab Rescue. They'll be happy to help you out.
Mel's a very sweet and gentle dog who will absolutely soak up as much love and attention as you want to give to her. She's pretty shy around new people, but it's nothing that a few cookies and treats can't break through. Once she's accepted you though, she'll stick to you like white on rice. She gets along great with other dogs and hasn't had any issues with any of the dogs she's met at the dog park. She knows sit, and is trying to learn down but could still use some obedience work. Mel gets pretty hyped when she sees the leash coming out (because it means she gets to go outside!). She likes to run and chase things (especially bugs), but isn't what I would consider a highly active dog. She's pretty happy just finding a spot at your feet and gnawing on a Nylabone.
How can you say no to a face like this?
Need to work on getting some decent pictures of Mel so that an adoption profile can be made for her. Part of the problem is she's such a spaz that I can't get her to stay still long enough to aim the camera at her. Everytime I catch her in a good pose and try to get a picture, she sees me and runs over to get some attention.
Good thing for digital cameras.
I think the wave of dog diarrhea that swept through is done with and everything seems to be back to normal now. Nala ended up getting some IV fluids at the vet last week as a preventive measure to make sure she didn't get dehydrated and a course of metronidazole just in case. She seems to be back to her regular self now.
They were all very happy to get out to the dog park yesterday afternoon for the first time in over a week. Much running and ball chasing went on. Even Mel got into the action playing chase games with some of the other dogs.
Back to life as usual now. *whew*
