grass under her paws

This morning H-Mom took Madison to the dog park. Three days on Rimadyl and one week of "taking it easy" -- four trays of raw beef marrow bones, a multitude of chewy things and some really long, really slow walks -- demanded an antidote of dog park time.

"Bark Park" is divided into three sections, with fencing and gates. The gates are little lop-sized, but they are functional. The main portion of the park is a couple acres of lawn, circled by a black-top path, and punctuated by agility equipment, doggie pools and a large corner of "jungle." There is a separate section for dogs under 25 pounds, with smaller versions of agility equipment. At the far corner is large portion of lawn, with some benches and shade trees, but nothing to jump on, vault over or do gymnastics around.

H-Mom headed to the fenced lawn with Madison. She ran easily, played with her pink tennis ball and barked at the other dogs, through the fence. It was tough not to run freely, but the grass obviously felt good. The sun was warm. It was a lovely morning, and puppies are meant to play.

Madison even found the piece of stinky black rope that she loves - it has been at the park for weeks.

Madison smiled the entire morning. She is getting her legs back under her.