Dogs in the Big Apple

Did you know that former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani used to have a yellow lab? (This photo is taken from the book New York Dogs, by Andrea Mohin.)

All last week, my human family members and I were on vacation in New York City. Cabana stayed at Bucky's house, where I hear she had a great time, playing tug with Bucky and demolishing all his stuffed toys.

We thoroughly enjoyed NYC, living on the top floor of a charming four-story brownstone, taking the subway all over Manhattan, visiting museums, shops and attractions. The only downside to our trip was, of course, that Cabana couldn't be there with us. So I consoled myself by reading lots of books about dogs and by nerdily (is that a word?) taking photos of passing dogs.

Although we didn't cross paths with Rudy Giuliani or his dog, during the first few days of our trip, I photographed every dog I saw. But then, I thought, wow, this is really stupid, so I stopped doing it. I was a bit embarrassed while taking them and felt sheepish since I hadn't asked anyone for permission, so I took the photos really fast, hoping no one would notice.

Now, looking through these dog photos, I am surprised at how much they convey and wish that I had kept taking them. I thought the photos would look too random and boring, but instead, they show the grittiness of the city, the traffic, the people, the movement, the hurrying. I had planned to use the photos to make a little collage to share on my blog, but the photos are so interesting (to me, anyway), that I want them to be viewed singly and at full-size, rather than as a tiny 1" square in a collage. So I made the slide show below.

Even though these are random dogs that we don't know anything about, they each have their own unique character and story. I recently read that city dogs have to be much better trained than country or suburban dogs. After all, city people can't just throw their dogs in a big backyard or let them run loose while they're at work all day. When neighbors literally live on top of you or on the other side of your wall, barking is just not acceptable. And you can bet with all of New York City's fines, that someone is going to get on your case if you don't bag up your pooch's poop!

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