Meet my Neighbors: Springfield Dog Park

People in Historic Springfield have a love for almost everything and everyone, including our two- and four-legged furry and feathery friends. From chicken and goats to cats and dogs and everything in between, you'll find lovers of all of these here in Historic Springfield.

We also have our own neighborhood dog park which to a large part was funded by the Springfield Women Club! You'll find the Springfield Dog Park, a FREE off-leash dog park, in Confederate Park at 956 Hubbard Street in Historic Springfield (click here for a link to a map).


We took Mio there last week for a quick meet and greet with some of the neighborhood pooches to help him get acclimated and socialized. It was a little windy and overcast, but not too cold for a quick first outing.

It's a great place if you want to take your dog out for a spin: there are separate, fenced in areas for small dogs and large dogs, shade covers and benches for tired owners, pick-up stations in case your pooch leaves a present and you forgot to bring a bag for the mess, water fountains for both, four-legged and two-legged creatures and it's lit so you can even come (or stay) when it gets dark!


You also get to meet nice people, both from the 'hood as well as those who come visit on a regular basis.


Mio was busy checking out the trees; his nose was going into overdrive from all the smells, even though he wasn't too thrilled about meeting other and much bigger dogs. He was quite happy they were on the other side of the fence.

Pick-up station with trash can - how handy.

Looking for a dog park near you in Jacksonville?
Just follow this handy-dandy link to a map of Jacksonville for more

New addition

As you may have noticed from posts like this one here and this one, we were in the mood for dog. And because of our special needs (cats and husband's allergies), our choices were somewhat limited. After ogling the listings at our local shelters (ACPS and Humane Society), trying a few rescue groups (of which only the Greyhound Rescue GAP was helpful - incredibly so - even if it didn't work out), I finally gave in and listened to my friend Nina's prodding to come and meet her dogs.

You see, she shows Chinese Crested and as luck would have it, just had a first litter born to her prize-winning dogs. Happy healthy puppies who'd grown up with kids (check!), a cat (check!) and are considered hypoallergenic (check!).

The problem?

Whenever I heard "Chinese Crested", this is what I envisioned:

[source: Miss Ellie, RIP]

A sight only a mother could love. A birth mother. A blind birth mother.

I'm clearly exaggerating. Actually, by now, I don't find her quite that ugly anymore.

Nina won. Three weeks ago, just after the Greyhound fail, we drove out to Mandarin to visit her and her little pack of Chinese Crested.

Within minutes, nay, seconds we were head over heels, madly in love with the rowdy bunch of puppies and their parents! This is a breed of dog you clearly have to SEE and FEEL before you can make up your mind. The Powderpuff variety is a Chinese Crested with a fine fluffy coat of fur and if untrimmed, looks like a cute little terrier. Groomed, they are ueber-cute with their little faces, soulful eyes and big bat ears.

[Mio checking out the kitchen while being checked out in turn.
Notice sneaky little Buttons in the back]

So we brought this little guy home with us: Sayuri's Amore Mio aka "Mio" (Mee-oh), this adorable 4 months old Powderpuff.

[Sweet little faces]

Here are my boys: Little Man and Mio, enjoying some cuddle time on Mom's lap. Mio is a darling of a well-adjusted puppy. He's attentive, happy, playful catching quick cat naps atop my feet in between walks and playing.


It took Buttons about 24 hrs to decide that Mio was the best plaything ever. The two -love- each other: they hang out together, nap together, share food and rough-house like a pair of puppies. When it comes to playing "Fetch!", though, Buttons has Mio beat hands-down. Boots, our senior cat, is glad that Buttons has somebody else to play with and ignores both (unless they get to close; then she calls them to order).

[Best place on earth? Mom's lap]

Mio is a perfect fit for our family and our first week together has been nothing but joy. I'm so glad we had the chance to get to know this rare but wonderful breed of dogs and are really lucky to add one to our gang.

Mio has two siblings who are still looking for a new home, so in case you are interested, check out Nina's webpage and drop her a line!

[source: Sayuris.com]

Le Menagerie

Ever since our lovely weekend with stray "Fergus" (read more about him and the other addition to our family here) and realizing how much I missed having a dog, we'd been in the market for a new four-legged family member of the canine kind.

What with the husband being allergic to four-legged mammals (and sometimes two-legged ones as well), pollen and dust, this is not an easy feat at all and needed much thought and strategy. Hypoallergenic dogs - if there really is such a thing - are generally more exclusive and thus more expensive breeds that are harder to come by, and are rarely available through pet shelters, at least not reliably.

Over the past couple of weeks we kept our eyes open and peeled on the various shelters around town and finally jumped into the pool at the deep end by getting in touch with the lovely people from GAP-Greyhounds as Pets, Jacksonville. Greyhounds generally shed a lot less than the average dog, some even consider them hypoallergenic and after a long visit at the kennel that hardly triggered any reaction in the husband we were hopeful that this might actually work. I'd been nuts about those gentle 45mph couch potatoes ever since meeting the retired racer of my former boss and was dying to have one join us. The GAP people were very accommodating and willing to work with us; they agreed to allow us to 'test' or foster a possible dog for a week to see if husband's allergies would be able to handle a dog in the house 24/7.

[83lbs of Greyhound Goodness]

So, "Hot Hot Dog" came home with us. We hit it off really well: Hot didn't only take up a huge space on our back seat (in fact he took up the entire back seat and squashed Little Man every time I had to hit the brakes) and in his crate in the dining room and curled up on the crib mattress next to our couch, but also in our hearts. He was sweet, gentle, easy going and laid back and despite his 83lbs worth of big black dog, a big wuss, who cried during the first night because he was so Looooooooo-oooooo-nely. Every two hours. It felt like having a newborn in the house again, and we were proud as new parents when he slept for four solid hours the next night.

[Little Man & Hot Hot Dog: every boy needs a dog]

Unfortunately, it was not meant to be. While Hot was a gentle giant following us around every step we took like a soft black shadow to your side, he was nuts about each and every cat. Sleeping, sitting in a tree out of reach, walking by, dozing on the porch - nothing made a difference. Our neighbor's Chihuahua seemed to fall into the same category (anything knee-high and taller he obviously regarded as 'dog' on even footing). And who could blame him? After a long and rather successful racing career, that prey drive that made him a good racer wasn't easily appeased and put to rest.



Not wanting to set him up for failure, we returned him to GAP with very heavy hearts and many tears. We know they will find him a good home, and we're glad we could help him by learning more about him to make sure the next family will be a better fit for him but it smarts still. Lovely lovely dog.

Sigh.

One good thing, it looks like our two cats bonded a bit more over the common enemy. (And we have more news in regard to the whole dog adventure :o) so stay tuned!)

The Cat's Meow

Just in case you were wondering who got to take the first bath ever in my beautiful brand-spanking new claw foot tub ...

[So that's where Tim Burton draws his inspiration from ...
Boots looking like the proverbial Halloween cat.

Look for the tail for any indication how fluffy she really is.]

This is Boots, resident feline here at the Ugly Duckling. The bath is part of her regular flea treatment. I don't know about your State but Florida is pretty heavy on fleas and you have to stay on top of it.

Boots came to us almost 8 years ago as a stray, and within no time she moved her soft-pawed self into our hearts and into our home. She's a sweet, gentle roly-poly kind of furball and prefers to sleep next to my pillow on cold nights, provided the sheet is smooth enough to meet her approval. She hates taking a bath, but she's good about it: no claws, no teeth and her escape attempts are half -hearted at best. Afterward, Boots remains upset at me for about half an hour and then she lets me know she's generously forgiven me. Over the past cuple of years she's become more vocal 'talking' to us with unusual almost bird-like chirping sounds and demands treats and attention with something that sounds suspiciously like "Now!".

I never wanted a cat and I HATE HATE HATE litterboxes, but this fluffball is -my- girl, and I don't mind sharing my lovely tub with her.