Our city happily going to the dogs

There are more things to like about Morgan Hill than I could list in three “Much Ado About Nothing” columns. The fantastic library. The Community Center. The athletic field and aquatic center. The list goes on and on. But the one that tops my list is the Morgan Hill Dog Park.
There’s an area for small dogs – aka little yappers – and a second area for big boys and girls. Both are terrific. People come from Gilroy, Hollister, San Jose and beyond just to let their dogs romp and sniff other dogs to their heart’s content. I met one woman from Florida who was traveling across the country in a motor home. She had visited dog parks in every state across the south and said Morgan Hill’s was the nicest dog park she had seen. How do you like that?
The dog park is here because of the tireless efforts of the Morgan Hill Dog Owners Group. It is due to their commitment, coupled with grants from the Morgan Hill Community Foundation, that we have this wonderful facility. And even if you don’t have a pet pooch, you might want to visit the park just to watch the canines play with each other, or see them chase one of the dozens of balls left for them to play with, or just hang around and ask to be petted – the dogs, that is. It is really a treat for them as well as for their humans.
Lady M and I took charge of our Annabelle almost a year ago. (To be honest, she took charge of us.) Annie loves the dog park. Her favorite pastime is to retrieve one of Lady M’s tennis balls – being a classy lady, Annie prefers newer balls with lots of fuzz remaining. Ones that belong to some other pooch also seem quite desirable to her. She loves to run to one of the many watering pails with a ball in her mouth, drop it into the water bucket and then put both front paws in the bucket and try to recover the ball. When that fails, she starts bobbing for the ball like we did years ago when we bobbed for apples. But she can do this over and over.
I’m not sure if Annie is missing a few marbles, or if she just likes making us all laugh. Maybe some of both. A great thing to watch in the dog park is how dogs seem to pick particular playmates. Annie likes one Doberman and a certain cockapoo best. Don’t ask me why. Different sizes, different personalities, different everything. But they are two of her favorites.
Another fun thing to observe is the occasional amorous tendencies of certain pets. None seems to get too far in their romances, thank goodness, but it is always interesting to watch a stumpy English bulldog “show interest” in a full-grown weimaraner.
If you have a pooch and have yet to introduce him or her to the Morgan Hill dog park, my recommendation is run, don’t walk. Your dog will love you for it. And, he or she will be so tired when you get back home, you won’t even be pestered for treats.
Of course, your pet should have the proper shots for protection. Our good friend and the worlds best veterinarian, Dr. Rick at South County Animal Hospital, will take care of everything for you.
And, you ask, “what if I am a cat person?” I guess you will have to find a cat park where your kitty can fight with other kitties. Somehow that just doesn’t sound like it will work, does it?
I do have some other animal news for Morgan Hillers. Seems our back yard entertained several new friends this fall. Much of our grass was torn up by a succession of visitors. No, they weren’t the wild pigs we have read about, recently. But they were raccoons, skunks and possums. We hired a specialist who humanely trapped a total of six invaders, so far.
Aside from taking a bath in our Jacuzzi after a fulfilling meal of grubs, one critter decided to redesign our backyard water feature. So, Mike Kupper from Morgan Hill’s Pond Works was called on to make the necessary repairs. Now that the rains are near, hopefully our critter invasion will be a thing of the past. Until next year anyway.
Maybe we need a Morgan Hill critter park to keep these guys out of trouble. Perhaps, a Morgan Hill Critter Lovers Group could be formed to arrange that.
Nah, let’s pass on that one.
Henry “Hank” Miller is a retired rocket scientist, he has an interest in classic automobiles, good conversation, martinis and community affairs. Reach him at ha******@gm***.com.