Freya is getting bigger

She's still looking cool!  Can't help but notice how much of a 360 degree advertisement you live in...  Damn!  Makes me so happy to look outside and see the Columbia river softly flowing along.

Just makes me wish all your doggies could come romp in my big back yard. Skyscrapers and sidewalks are no substitute for acres of grass and trees. Thanks for giving those wonderful companions some exercise and socialization, ol pal.

PS: She's a beauty!!

It's a myth that dogs aren't happy in cities like New York. Of course they are, provided their owner loves them and they get a lot of socialization/playtime. Walking around Manhattan is a sensory adventure for a dog. All the sounds and smells...all the attention they get from passers by...and they'll sometimes meet 10-15 other dogs in the course of a 30 minute walk. It's social heaven! And there are hundreds of enclosed dog runs here where dogs can go nuts with each other in a safe environment.  I've had dogs almost pull my arm out of its socket because they couldn't wait to go to the dog run. An hour of running non-stop and bouncing off of 20-30 other similarly excited dogs...they come home exhausted and thoroughly happy. They're social animals and most dogs in New York will get more socialization in the course of one year than a country dog gets their whole life. Come on backwoods, you know better than to make a psychological evaluation based on one photo of an exhausted pooch. She had a great time today 

bapu

sharke
It's a myth that dogs aren't happy in cities like New York. Of course they are, provided their owner loves them and they get a lot of socialization/playtime. Walking around Manhattan is a sensory adventure for a dog. All the sounds and smells...all the attention they get from passers by...and they'll sometimes meet 10-15 other dogs in the course of a 30 minute walk. It's social heaven! And there are hundreds of enclosed dog runs here where dogs can go nuts with each other in a safe environment.  I've had dogs almost pull my arm out of its socket because they couldn't wait to go to the dog run. An hour of running non-stop and bouncing off of 20-30 other similarly excited dogs...they come home exhausted and thoroughly happy. They're social animals and most dogs in New York will get more socialization in the course of one year than a country dog gets their whole life. Come on backwoods, you know better than to make a psychological evaluation based on one photo of an exhausted pooch. She had a great time today 

Now, if people would enjoy the experience in the same way, maybe we'd live on a much better planet?

Well I'm certainly enjoying myself - I couldn't live anywhere else now. A day in the country is nice but I find myself yearning to get back to the noise, bustle and excitement. On some days I'll leave my apartment and start walking and within 1 hour I've seen 2 parades, 3 street festivals and 5 world class street musicians. Every morning I wait for a subway and literally a few feet to my right there's this killer jazz trio tearing it up to the point where I deliberately miss a couple of trains just to hear them. And then you get on the train and there's 4 old guys singing Sittin' On The Dock Of The Bay in flawless 4 part harmony. I also love how everything is in walking distance. The stores, supermarkets, every type of restaurant you could imagine....In almost 12 years here I've never owned a car. Sometimes I'll take a train upstate to see an old friend of mine. On one occasion him and his wife told me I had to try their local Indian restaurant. Sounds great, I said. It was a 45 minute drive 

To be honest I think I would find New York stressful if I was just visiting. It helps to know that all of your home comforts are here 
 
Having said that, you do see way more than your fair share of absolute horror. I've stumbled on some pretty stomach churning shall we say "scenes" in my time...Cory Liddle's plane crash, a helicopter/plane collision over the Hudson and a couple of crane collapses spring to mind...but then again, we forget how safe even places like New York are in comparison to a lot of other places in the world. 
 
Yeah the dogs make things a LOT more lighthearted though. Some of my mornings are spend playing tug-o-war with puppies and it's at times like that I take a minute to appreciate just how easy I have it compared to a lot of other jobs.