The Last Dog in the Park

I was lucky enough to get a great rescue dog nearly 20 years ago. When we moved to a small condo, after a couple years of training because she’d been abused and was afraid of men and children, we ventured out into our new neighborhood. There was a five acre “pocket park” we began to walk through. The mothers and kids at the tot lot were not friendly at first as I walked her through the park (not the tot lot) on a legal 6′ leash.

Then Park and Rec demolished the tot lot an made a new one with current (at least then) safety equipment and spongy turf instead of sand.
that’s when we began to meet people. One of the first was a new friend and her 3# Yorkie Savannah. Savannah had a mind of her own and she began to have a set of clothing most women would die for: as she was smaller than any retailer made clothing for, a milliner friend designed clothing just for Savannah. July 4th she had a reversible denim/red gingham dress with matching baseball cap.

The human friends I made at this park are mainly older. Many are gone now, as are their beloved pets. Years later and several moves later we still keep in touch with a few of the humans.

Nearly ten years ago my dog died. One day she brought her favorite toy out to the park, and she’d never brought a stuffed animal out there before, but later I figured that was her goodbye. She died the next day with no warning. All our friends were so helpful and kind but walking out there to the park the next day was torture until I got there and was hugged. They all bought the city a tree in my dog’s honor and there it sits with better views than any of our homes had! The tot lot kids who yelled “it’s Chani!” every day felt bad saying “It’s Chani’s Mom” so settled with a muted Hi, Dee.

We played with Makai, Gigi, Sunnegga, Gus, Woody, Harley, and many other neighborhood dogs. Savannah was always special. One day she decided to go out on her own because two very large, vocal Rottweilers were barking their heads off. She faced off with them, spoke a few words in Dog, and they shut up. This three pound dog silenced two huge hulking beasts and they didn’t eat her. Of course they didn’t, as the “she” in question was Savannah.

All of us came to this park years ago seeking friendship and neighborliness. Unfortunately others thought a group of widows with bichons and other dogs were a threat to the community so made sure to call the authorities on us at every opportunity. Most of us remained friends, but now the last dog of the group is gone. It is the end of an era. The tree belongs to Savannah, Makai, Woody, Dolley, Lucy, Micey, and every other dog that lived and died by our park, including my dog Chani. To our Best Friends, Dee