The Dog Park - Dog Fancier's Park

For a long time we have talked of posting a regular entry, each one on a dog park we have been to at some point over the past several years. But lets start from the beginning. In 2003 we moved to Las Vegas into our humble 600 square foot apartment, the two of us and our dog Bentley. We didn't really know anyone or the area and figured a good place to start was the Dog Fancier's Park off Stephanie and Flamingo.

Thus began the tradition of visiting a dog park at least once a week, usually on Sunday. The dog park is the place to be for many reasons including:

1. You associate people that you would not normally meet.

2. Fresh air and a little exercise does everyone good.

3. The dogs are allowed to exercise their God given instinct to associate with other mutts.

4. Quality family time too - I mean what three year old wouldn't love making regular trips to a park full of dogs?

5. We pay taxes so we might as well see the rewards of those dollars.

Those are a few of the reasons we make regular trips to the dog park. But since we first stepped through the gates of Dog Fancier's Park we have made every effort to visit dog parks when we travel. As a result we have been to parks in Florida, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada and California. There are at least a few reasons why we do this:

1. We all benefit from a little exercise and fresh air after being cramped in a car for hours.

2. We don't feel like tourists as much, we feel like we have a better understanding of what it is like to live in these various communities.

3. Every trip to the dog park makes for some quality people watching, even more if the park is in a different city.

At any rate the dog park of the week will always be "the dog park" to us. Dog Fancier's Park is behind The Cannery Hotel off of Boulder Highway in Las Vegas and is one of the largest dog parks we have ever been to. It has five separate completely enclosed runs, plenty of benches, tables and water, parking is never a problem and there is even a fun bathroom if you can't hold it in. The park is also used for all sorts of cool dog events including the annual Strutt Your Mutt.

Bentley loves to roam from one corner to another and when he is done with one run he'll stand by a gate to the next groaning and moaning until someone - anyone - will let him in. Myla loves to run wild chasing balls and frisbees...well she doesn't really chase the balls and frisbees but the dogs that are chasing the balls and frisbees.

MEMORABLE MOMENT: There are so many but who can forget the time Myla snatched some poor hapless pigeon right out of the air. The bird was fine, in fact the whole incident probably scared Myla more than Pigey the Pigeon. Myla seemed weirded out by the squirming, feathery thing and was spitting up loose feathers for several minutes.

Stay tuned because like I said, we have lots of dog park stories from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean and I know all are dying to hear them!