Tonka Dog

Sometimes I think my dog is socially inept.

Tonka's great. He's a sweetheart. But when I take him to the dog park I just watch him and think, "I never properly socialized this dog!"

Today was a little better. I took him on a long walk before I took him to the park so when he ran up to stranger's pants and "lifted his leg" there was nothing left to pee out. I took my book with me today and just sat on a park bench to the side. I wasn't really looking at this moment, but I heard a bunch of people laugh and say, "he just lifted his leg on me!" Needless to say, I just kept staring down at my book.

Just watching him at the park is hilarious/embarressing. He pees on everything, runs quickly through crowds, and ignores anyone who actually wants to give him attention. A lot of the time he whines while he runs, which makes me feel like I'm an abusive or neglectant parent.

A lot of the owners bring toys for their dogs to play with. When the tennis ball comes out, there's always a group of dogs ready to chase after it, you know, like normal dogs do. But not Tonka. When the ball gets tossed he just chases the dog who's running after it. He has no interest in the toy at all.

But he's a good dog. It's not like he attacks other dogs or jumps on anyone when he's all muddy. He listens when I call him and is great to look at because he's so cute.

There's one of those fancy plastic playgrounds for kids at the park as well. When I caught Tonka climbing up the stairs, run over the wobbly bridge, and make it up to the top of the slides, my heart just melt.

He's my buddy.