As the seasons begin to change and summer turns to fall and fall turns to winter, it is becoming increasingly important to take advantage of nicer days while we still can! The bitter cold temps of North Dakota make it difficult to be active outside and as much as most of us may not want to admit it, those days are rapidly approaching. With that said, the fall and early winter can be prime for walking as the temperatures are just warm enough to be comfortably bundled up but also not miserably hot like it can be in the summer. This past weekend, my wife and I got an opportunity to take advantage of the manageable weather and join other dog owners in the community to go on a group walk around Lindenwood Park in Fargo.
If you don’t know much about greyhounds, I’ll share with you that owning one (or two, in our case) is kind of like being part of a cult! Greyhound owners LOVE other greyhounds and oftentimes for owners, living with a greyhound is the ultimate way of life. We’re an obsessive bunch. With that said, my wife and I are part of a Facebook group for greyhound owners in the F/M area and recently a group walk was organized so we could get together as a group and walk with our gloriously gangly hounds. Although not many were able to attend, 3 groups with 4 total greyhounds and a Doberman Pinscher were able to meet up for a nice walk around the park. Among the group was Mercedes, the Doberman who was a great sport taking part in the walk of the greyhounds, Ernie, a beautiful brindle who was adopted through Greyhound Pets of America, Jake, a goofy guy who was adopted through Minnesota Greyhound Rescue, and our girls Rosie and Piper, who were also adopted through Minnesota Greyhound Rescue. A common bond of rescuing greyhounds is what brought our group together even though we were complete strangers at one point in time.
Although it was a cloudy and chilly day for our walk, it was difficult to let the dreary weather dampen anybody’s spirits as we were surrounded by jolly pups. I think I can speak for everyone when I say that both humans and dogs thoroughly enjoyed the experience. In total, we covered nearly 3 miles throughout both Lindenwood Park in Fargo and Gooseberry Park in Moorhead. Meeting up with other greyhound owners was a fantastic reason to get out for a walk and also to go on a longer walk than my wife and I normally would with the dogs. Another thing about greyhounds is that they are surprisingly lazy dogs so 3 miles is quite the walk for them (especially for our’s who are 7 and 8). Having the company of other dogs and owners helped keep the dogs engaged and interested in the walk though so we were able to get even more exercise in than we usually would have. The crisp fall air was refreshing for the body and the conversation was good for the soul.
In closing, I would encourage everyone to find a reason to get out and get active this fall. I would also take it a step further and encourage people to step outside their comfort zone at times to do so. It would have been very easy for my wife and I to simply ignore the Facebook invite to go on a group dog walk as we didn’t know who was going to be there. Instead, we took advantage of the opportunity to meet new people of the same interest and we are very happy we did so. I know Rosie and Piper are happy about it too and look forward to seeing their friends Mercedes, Ernie, and Jake again! I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their fall and makes the most of it. Stay safe and never stop exploring!
- Blayne Waselk: Secretary
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