"At the Dog Park" by Rev. Thomas Schade

Tue Oct 2 14:05:56 EDT 2007

M I N I S T E R’ S   M E M O

“At the Dog Park”

In my neighborhood, very few people have much in the way of yards, much less
fenced-in backyards. Therefore, my neighbors and I don’t “let the dog out,”
as I did when I was boy. We “take the dog for a walk.” Instead of opening
the backdoor when the dog scratches at it, or waits patiently beside it, and
then letting it back in after a few minutes, a small army trudges the
streets of our neighborhood, at all hours of day and night, walking the dog.
We are all armed with plastic bags, often the one the newspaper was
delivered in just this morning, for our necessary duty and we all know the
location of every public trash bin and waste basket in the neighborhood. The
wiser and better prepared also carry flashlights. There is, of course, a
necessary function of our wanderings, upon which I will not elaborate, but
we are also exercising the dog. The Dog Whisperer (on the National
Geographic Channel) says each dog needs 40 minutes of exercise a day, and we
urban dog owners take his word seriously.

So, the dog park is a very important part of our lives. About a quarter mile
away, the city has designated one of the playing fields as a dog park. It is
completely enclosed, so they can be off the leash and run free. They can run
around in circles, run after balls and sticks, chase the birds, and most
importantly, they can hang out with other dogs. The humans come to stand
around, drink coffee from to-go coffee cups, talk on the cell phone and talk
about each other’s dogs.

So there are two parallel worlds going on in the dog park. The dogs are
hanging out and being dogs together. And the humans are hanging out and
being people together.

I have no insight into the social world of dogs. Some run around a lot; some
stay close to their owners. Some dogs like to chase balls and sticks, and
other dogs like to chase other dogs. Some dogs will approach other dogs and
some other dogs are more interested in the people. My dog, for example,
greets almost all the people before she starts to interact with the other
dogs. She responds to most other dogs by immodestly displaying her nether
regions for their close inspection. I hate to think what kind of jobs she
would have if she had to find work in the human world.

The people have their own ways of acting; our own rules of behavior.
1.	It is expected that dog owners will talk with other dog owners. If you
have a dog, it means that any other dog owner can initiate a conversation
with you, whether you are on the street late at night or at the park.
2.	Dog owners do not exchange names or any personal information, except as
it relates to your dog. You might say that you live in an apartment or a
house, but only if it arises in a conversation about your dog.
3.	While dog owners don’t learn each other’s names, it is expected that you
will know the names of other dogs. And their breed. Since I try to remember
the names of people as a part of my work, this complicates my life. I
suspect that I have memory slots for about 150 names of people who are new
to me. So, if I seem to have trouble learning your name at church, it may be
that I am remembering that the little beagle who lives around the corner is
Chevy and that the chocolate lab is Elvis, instead.
4.	It’s expected that you will ask “what kind of dog is Willem, or Easton,
or Sophie, or Lily?” This can also be tricky. I was admiring a beautiful
little baby (person) the other day, and almost asked the parents, “so what
kind of baby is this?” Asking about someone’s breeding is not considered
good manners among people, and on a job interview is probably against the
law.
5.	Just like babies, not all dogs are good-looking and attractive. And just
like babies, it’s better left unsaid.
6.	Dog owners assume a high degree of mutual cooperation around our dogs’
safety. On Sunday evening, we met a man at the dog park who reported that a
dog had slipped out of the gate the day before. Not his dog, but someone
else’s. He said that he and the others spent an hour and half, roaming the
neighborhood, tracking and coaxing this dog back to safety. Like human
beings everywhere, danger can transform even the most casual collections of
people into purposeful communities of shared purpose.

The human instinct to bond with others, to create all sorts of overlapping
communities, is so basic to the human character. In some ways, it is our
most powerful motivation throughout the whole stretch of our lives. The
communities that we create exist at all levels of intimacy and shared
purpose. To form a group with the conscious purpose of living our lives in
the fullest of meanings, and to make a commitment to the others is to create
a covenanted community, like a congregation or a church.

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