Doggy Winter In The City
Merry be the creatures that dart on the grass, tails wagging, eyes fixated on whatever ball, disc, shoe, plastic bag that flies through the air above them, like it was the meaning of life itself. And merry be the ones that throw the ball, disc, shoe or plastic bag, faces lit with expectant joy, watching their dogs ran back and forth in the parks, yards, or particularly spacious living rooms.
As of 2016, Atlanta was in the top ten of best cities for dogs in the country, with 54% of households owning at least one dog. The city also has over 3000 acres of parkland — that’s 3000 acres for tens of thousands of Atlanta dogs to lie, sleep, chase and fetch; and that’s not even including the metro area’s spacious sidewalks, where dogs of all shapes and sizes could be seen strolling or being strolled down the street at the ends of leashes, poking out of handbags or snuggled inside baby strollers. Even with winter approaching, many dogs and dog owners are undeterred to make the best use out of what the city has to offer.
“Oh, Mandy loves this weather,” said Wallace, sitting on the bench at Piedmont Park, patting the yellow-white fur of his dog, Mandy, who, like her owner, didn’t seem bothered by the 36ºF temperature. They were the two solitary figures in an otherwise deserted park, so cold and windy was the day that citizens trembled around in a hypothermic shade of purple. Mandy the dog, on the other hand, seemed as content as could be, her big-dog strength and heavy fur coat allowing her to roam the streets shoeless and sweater-less, unlike smaller dogs. As Wallace lives in a condo right across the street from Piedmont Park, he was free to take her out for a walk every single day. Mandy, reasonably, enjoys wintertime.
But not all dogs get to enjoy their brisk walks as frequently as Mandy. Being a city dogs come with its difficulties: the strollers and dog bars are great, but so often their big-city humans are too occupied with their big-city jobs for the two to enjoy these strollers and bars together.
“It’s certainly hard to get Doug exercised with our job,” said David, who and who named his dog after the cartoon animal from the movie Up and who shares Doug with his girlfriend. “But we find a balance. Doug loves doing obstacle courses, so fortunately that can be done in our apartment.” Playtime with Doug also includes wielding a toy fishing pole with something dangling from the end, which becomes the object of Doug’s circular chase. “It’s fun,” he chuckled.
“We do take him out, but it depends on our work schedules. We’d take him on a walk through our neighborhood, but he doesn’t do well with other dogs so we don’t take him to dog parks,” said David.
Will, who recently graduated from college, shared his struggles to find time with his dog, Chubbs. “I take Chubbs out whenever I can. I find myself spending time with him early in the morning or late at night. My transition into adulthood makes it hard for me to visit him. My dad also has trouble due to his work schedule. Sometimes, I seek others that may be willing to take care of him.”
For many people, if it’s already tricky to exercise dogs most times of the year, it only gets trickier during the winter. Not only does the harsh weather make them reluctant to go out, the time available to do so is not ideal. Surfacing data has suggested that, like humans, dogs suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder, which makes them, as the disorder’s acronym fittingly describes, SAD. To help their canines friends get over the Winter Blues, dog owners are encouraged to expose their dogs to more daylight, but in Atlanta’s winter, sunrise could be as late as 7:43 a.m. and sunset as early as 5:28 p.m., making dog walking in the sunlight a weekend-only activity for nine-to-five workers and harried college students.
“You’ve just got to make adjustment to your lifestyle,” said Steve, a college professor walking with his dog, Laddie, in Piedmont Park at 4 p.m. “It’s like having a kid… No, don’t eat that, Laddie, that’s a leaf.”
David agreed. “You have to make yourself available and be willing to tailor your life to your animal.” This Thanksgiving, David and his girlfriend was planning to fly northward to their relatives, but lack of a dog-sitter for Doug put the brakes on that plan. Unwilling to put him in a kennel, the couple decides to drive instead so that he could come along. One hopes Doug enjoys long road trips as much as his cartoon namesake, for a two-hour flight has now turned into an 18-hour drive. “Eighteen hours!” David exclaimed at the prospect, continuing, “If you can’t put your pet first, then maybe you shouldn’t get one.”
Unfortunately, many of those who shouldn’t have gotten pets realized this too late, and consequently gave up their animals. The pet surrender puts additional strain on the city’s animal shelters. This past summer, two shelters in Atlanta fell in a state of crisis. “We are up 304 animals,” said a spokesperson for the Fulton and DeKalb County Animal Services in an interview with The Dodo. It is unclear whether the strain has been alleviated, but the thought of half a dozen abandoned dogs squeezed in a small cot, caged, under-exercised and with a case of Winter Blues is not a happy one.
David shared his thought on the matter, “Adopting a pet, finding a home for them — it’s always a good thing. Yeah, it can be more challenging, but sometimes more rewarding.”
Louie, walking both of his big, old, adopted dogs in the park, knew the feeling. “I can’t live without my dogs!” he said. “I got both of them back when I lived in Massachusetts. This is Dinah.” Dinah perked up at the sound of her name. “She was one and a half when I got her. They found her in the woods and were going to put her down — but I fell in love with her from pictures on the Internet and got her shipped all the way from Texas to New England. And Kodi, I got him when he was four. He was abused and rescued. He was originally from Georgia, actually; he’d made the round trip back!” Both of the dogs re-entered the South as happy canines, now enjoying the first signs of winter.
Having a pet can serve as a hobby, but looking after a pet as demanding as a dog is a whole other experience. “It checks your ego,” said David. “If the world revolved around you before, now it can’t anymore.”
In the bleak winter months to come, dogs need their humans even more, and busy working Atlanta dog owners fight against their jobs demands and Mother Nature herself to ensure their pets don’t become depressed, sleeping, furry logs under the Winter Blues. On a simple walk down Peachtree Street, one can see the dedication that, unleashed within pockets of free time, borders on obsession: dogs in puffy jackets and flashy shoes are already strutting all over town, their innocent minds unburdened by human society’s concept of appearances, their owners emitting a kind of proud glow by their sides. It’s not just from the joy of playing dress-up with a live, four-legged, barking doll, it’s the knowledge that no matter what god-awful outfit they fit their dogs into, there’s a guarantee of love and companionship that no bad fashion can spoil.
“And, in the end, that’s just what people want,” said David.
So if you’re a dog owner, this holiday season, don’t hesitate to dress your dogs up in whatever you deem fashionable and show them off in the street in the daylight. If you’re not a dog owner but are ready to be, perhaps consider adopting from the shelter — your dog’s Christmas present would be a nice, new home. Give these urban canines the best of a winter in the city.
