My column from May 13, 2017.
One of the challenges of working as a journalist is the
hours. News does not happen from 9 to 5 Mondays through Fridays. Journalists
cover meetings in the evening, events on the weekend and often work on
holidays.
Since it was my turn to help cover the weekend shift last
Saturday, my editor asked me to attend the grand opening of the Randy C. Fiegel
Memorial Dog Park at the Dodge County Humane Society. The event included
vendors offering pet food or animal-related services, two bounce houses, a
burger fry, bake sale, tours of the shelter and demonstrations by dog trainers.
A brisk wind offered an occasional chill, but sunshine,
talking to people and meeting their dogs, visiting shelter cats and taking
photos of dogs gleefully running in the dog park more than made up for working
on a weekend.
I finally met fellow Yooper Meredith Winning in person. She
serves on the DCHS board, and we not only share a homeland, but an amazing
friend. I introduced myself to Diane Kitchen, recognizing her from years of
attending events at Prairie View Elementary School while my son was a student
there.
Dr. Jeff Hookstead also attended the grand opening. He
offers his services as a veterinarian to the DCHS, and I’ve witnessed how calm
and patient he can be with animals in distress. While my cat Zoopie accepts me
as her human, she is not friendly to other people and barely tolerates my son.
Plus, she dislikes both car rides and getting shots (to be fair, who really
enjoys getting shots), and acts like a feral animal at the vet. I also ran into
Mary Fitzgerald, attending the grand opening as a Beaver Dam Chamber of
Commerce ambassador.
While I did not get her name, I met the mother of Madelyn
Hartman after taking a photo of her on the bouncy house slide. Originally from
Juneau, we had a nice conversation about the benefits of living in Wisconsin
with all the amazing cheese and local meat markets. We watched her daughters
make laps through the bounce house and down the slide.
I also met several dogs. While I consider myself more of a
cat person, and wish my lease and Zoopie would allow me to adopt a shelter cat,
I appreciate the unconditional love offered by dogs. I minded my manners and
asked for the handler’s permission before offering the dogs my hand to sniff in
hopes of being permitted to pet them. Blaze, an enormous Great Dane, allowed me
to stroke his silky head. While he looked a bit like Marmaduke, his dignified
good behavior revealed why he is a champion show dog. I met Duke, a
two-year-old pointer-lab mix, and Zeus, a 4-year-old Doberman Pinscher who
demonstrated his nose work skills.
The ribbon cutting and dedication of the dog park filled me
in on the history of the Dodge County Humane Society and the evolution of the
dog park project.
To learn more about it, visit http://www.dchs-wi.org/. If you can, make
a donation or volunteer to support this very worthy cause.
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