Downey Dog Park update

Mochi *loves* going to the dog park, even if he's still awkward in his interactions with the other dogs. As soon as we pull into the parking lot, he starts jumping up and down and whining with excitement, and is always eager to leap out of the car and run over to the dog park's entrance. Even on days when he's the only dog there, he still has a great time racing about, chasing squirrels, and sniffing all the "messages" left behind by various other dogs.

Unfortunately, today the dog park was closed :( Poor Mochi didn't understand why he wasn't allowed to get out of the car, and was quite visibly unhappy. Why was the dog park closed? Well, they're moving the entrance to the park from the edge of the greater Lake Downey Park along East Colonial to the inside of Lake Downey Park itself. While I think this will make for a safer entrance to the dog park (I cringe every time when people show up without leashes, with their dogs running loose near busy East Colonial as they make their way to the fenced in park), I'm annoyed that the less than half a mile distance that I currently drive in order to get to the dog park will soon be changed to a distance of over a mile. It's still not all that far in the grand scheme of things, but with gas prices being what they are, every extra half mile counts. The new entrance will be open Friday, September 14th, and will be accessible via the main park entrance on Flowers Ave. Visitors to the dog park are asked to park over by the Downey skate park (physically located at the western edge of the dog park).

Since I'd brought Mochi out in the car, it seemed a shame to return home without actually taking him anywhere, so I drove over to the Little Econ Greenway (which I've mentioned before), as it's also right around the corner from where I live. Mochi enjoys walking along the Greenway as well, although not as much, as there are rarely other dogs there, and as he has to remain on his leash. I wish I'd had my camera with me this time! We saw a snowy egret, a great blue heron, a really interesting looking dragonfly, and - what really has me kicking myself for not bringing my camera - an anhinga emerged from being fully submerged in the river with a rather large fish in its mouth, which it then proceeded to eat. But, no camera. You'll have to make do with a couple of crappy cell phone pics of Mochi.

Mochi at the Little Econ Greenway, taken with my cell
(See update part 2 here.)