egbert + ripi: a pet’s eye view

perspective from a pigeon and a dog

Archive for urban life

esprit park

September 16, 2007 at 1:04 am · Filed under urban life, dog's eye view, out and about

i like mellow parks

my people took me to esprit park today to hang out. i like esprit park because it is a bit undiscovered and is still chill on the weekends. they even did a renovation last year and the park has a nice trail around it for my people.

sometimes the other parks are a little too crazy on the weekend, especially if it is hot. don’t get me wrong, i love the people, frisbees, balls and all of the dogs. it’s just that it can be overwhelming sometimes when i am in the mood to hang out. so i highly recommend esprit park.

or do i? maybe i shouldn’t tell as it is my secret hideaway park, but i can’t resist.

google map to esprit park

more about dogs and esprit park

do dogs and birds go together?

August 8, 2007 at 11:08 pm · Filed under urban life, simple things, bird's eye view

do we get along?

people always seem surprised to know that egbert and i are good pals. i have known her since i was a few weeks old, and it never occurred to me that birds and dogs might not go together.

in fact, once when i was little, i flew off looking for a bit of adventure and couldn’t find my way home. all of the buildings looked the same, and i had never been out without my people and egbert. i finally saw the dog park a block away and flew there hoping to find them. i landed on dog after dog and egbert wasn’t there. some of the dogs seemed surprised. some of them were very mean to me. luckily a neighbor called animal care and control and they came to pick me up. eventually, my people and egbert came to get me.

egbert has nice fur. i like to land on her back and dance around. her fur is very cushiony under my toes. if i can keep my balance, she will walk around and give me a ride. if she is laying down, i just dance in front of her and peck at her toes. it never seems to make her get up and give me a ride. that’s okay. i just take things as they go.

i am glad that egbert and i have each other. it’s nice not to be alone when our people go out. egbert gets to go with them much more than i do, especially since i tried to go on my own adventures a couple of times. it does give me a bit of alone time, but i am always happy to hear the jingle of her tags. even if i am in my cage and egbert is across the room, we still talk to each other and it makes it less lonely when the people are gone.

so yes, i can definitely say, birds and dogs do go together.

being an urban dog

July 28, 2007 at 9:02 pm · Filed under urban life, environment, living with people, dog's eye view, out and about

i love being an urban dog.

yes i enjoy running around in the mountains, swimming in the lake or rolling in a field as much as the next dog. but i have a great time in the city. the best thing is seeing so many different people and getting so much love. people stop to talk and pet me all the time. if they drive by me in my car, they almost always try to bark or howl or make faces at me to get my attention. people are really goofy that way.

a typical day goes like this.

the alarm clock goes off and the people keep hitting the alarm clock to make it quiet for a few minutes.
finally, my dad wakes up. my mom is not a morning person so sometimes i have to lick her eyelids and put my paw on her forehead.
my dad and i head out for coffee. at the coffee shop they have clips attached to the wall so i have a place to hang the end of my leash. this allows me to be right out front where i can be noticed. everyone that goes in or comes out gives me some love. sometimes i get a little croissant or bagel. don’t tell my people.
then it is back home where i see all of my neighbors as i head back.
we live and work at the same place. i go back there and hang out. sometimes neighbors give some love as they pass by on the way about their business.
there are the people at the business next door. they come out for a few minutes several times a day to get some fresh air and see me. they all know my perfect places to scratch.
of course, you know about my postman. his visit is definitely one of my favorite points in the day.
depending on the day, our ups guy will come by too. he is an animated guy with lots of good stories and lots of love for dogs. sometimes if we are out driving and i see him, i bark out the window to say hello.
park time! depending on the day and weather my typical choices are my old duboce, mccovey cove park, esprit park, chrissy field, fort funston or sometimes golden gate park. this is where you network with other dogs. some younger dogs run around like nuts, but i prefer to make my rounds in my own way. sometimes i might play with someone my size. here all the people carry treats. i always sniff their pockets.
then we go back for more work, the shop next door closes and the neighborhood is hopping again. people coming and going everywhere so of course i get some more love.
when we finish working we get some dinner. almost every day we go to the corner store. i can’t go in because it is too busy, but i wait right out front by the door. this way i don’t miss any love from people going in or out. in some of my other neighborhoods i used to go inside the corner store. they almost always give me some beef jerky. oh yeah.
then i play with my people a little and chill.
and then i get to go for a walk. if it isn’t raining we check out the shop windows and walk around the neighborhood. i can take stock of the comings and goings of the day. this is one of the perks of being an urban dog. i know what’s going on in the big world.
then i come home and rest up for the next big day.