A walk in the park

It's a different experience to walk in the park just for walking purposes -- briskly, purposefully, all that good stuff -- and to walk in the park for purposes of capturing animals . . . on camera.

Of course a weekend or holiday is the best time for this, preferably with warmish weather, however unseasonable it may be. That combination brings out the fathers with kids and balls -- and dogs. And the couples walking their dogs. And the loners walking two dogs. One day recently, I encountered all these, and more.

To my surprise, they all agreed to let me take their dogs' pictures. First came Cookie, a fluffy white mixed breed, who wanted to play ball with a little boy and his dad -- except that she was leashed to one of their backpacks, and dragged it around with her on the perimeter of their game.

Cyrus and Beatrix were next -- a big, black long-haired German Shepherd and a squat little Corgi. They were walking with a man who warmed up talking about them. Beatrix, he specified, was named for the royal Beatrix, of the Netherlands, while Cyrus looked the way German-German Shepherds ought to look.

Then came Baby, a female pit bull who had been saved from litter after litter. The woman walking her was a friend of Baby's owner-savior. Finally, Luna, a Boston Terrier -- haven't seen one of those in a long while -- was walking from the car she arrived in toward the home she and her people were visiting.

It was a great day to be out and around, meeting these terrific dogs who seemed to feel the same way.
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