Vol.51 Dog Run / English Version

Dog Run

There are many parks in Manhattan and most have Dog Runs where dogs can

run freely---very important in a city of apartments.

Hudson River Park has a famous Dog Run and is known for its yearly

"Dog Walk" which we discussed here.

Hudson River Park which overlooks the Hudson River, always has lots of people

jogging or biking early every morning.

It happens to be the fashion industry's Alex Garfield's favorite place

in New York to take his dogs.

Every morning, dogs and dog owners gather at The Dog Run on the Upper

West Side near 86th Street and Riverside Drive.

Alex, one of the owners, comes at 7:00 a.m. every morning with Cooper,

a 3 year old (black) and 8 months old Lester ( white). .

Alex sits with his friends on a bench.

Somehow these men seem to look like Japanese men relaxing on the veranda.

But this bench has a special meaning.

In New York parks there are many benches, many that are donated by residents

who can write a personal message on them.

Alex has donated two benches at this Dog Run.

His messages say:

"For Lester and Cooper, and for all their Furry Friends, with Love."

"If you love dogs ---some big and some small---

this bench is for you to sit on after all."

"Dogs are my best friends. To come to the Dog Run every morning

makes me happy. It is nice to see everyone happily sitting on my bench,"

Alex said while smiling at his dog companions.

All the dogs are really enjoying running around, scrambling through the brambles,

chasing balls or finding new "good" friends.

The Run really has all kinds of dogs.

I also saw a Shiba dog.

There is even a proper "watering hole" where a dog can have a rest

and then run around again. When I tried to take photos of the dogs,

they posed and looked closely at the camera.

They are no different than a human child.

I realized that for us, the human being and the dog, it is important to run around

freely. So I want to run with the dogs and finish photographing them later!