Tails of a Spinning Dog

Hobie and I discovered a small dog park on our walk through Punavouri. It's situated across a school and behind a church,with a bench that's optimal for soaking up some sun. And this doggie park featured another mascot, which Hobie immediately went to investigate. The mascot carried a strong resemblance to a big miniature schnauzer.

Hey, the dog looks like Hobie, beard and all!

Checking out the potential.

Alas, it just wasn't meant to be.

Hobie didn't seem to mind walking on the frozen bay. As you can clearly see, this was Hobie's winter coat, taken about two weeks ago.

Hobie now knows the area around the local dog parks, and he starts pulling his leash when we get close, hoping to play some fetch.

The three of us went to the Lapinlahti dog park near Ruoholahti (see map below). This park is a lot cleaner than the dog park in Ruoholahti . Unfortunately, a lot of people in Ruoholahti don't pick up after their dogs, making it hazardous to play in the dog park.

But, back to the Lapinlahti dog park. When we arrive, Hobie will typically sit down and wonder if something is going to come out of our pockets.

Since it is not really allowed to play fetch in the dog parks we only do this when there are no other dogs around. On this day, Hobie was in luck: his red football suddenly appeared out of nowhere!

Throw it, throw it!

Gotta catch the ball!

Then Hobie will run and fetch the ball.

Again, again!

Although Hobie is nearing the big 1-0, he is still able to keep going for a long time. Most of the time we get cold from standing in the park before he gets too tired to continue.

We finally received some decent snow last night, and Hobie couldn't have been more thrilled. He kept rolling around in the snow, trying desperately to remove the snow from his eyes. As you can see, it was futile.

I was going through some old photos of Hobie. This was taken two summers ago atop Alta Plaza Park. The three of us are definitely missing the California sunshine. We miss you, San Francisco.

We've learned a few quirky things about Hobie:

1. When it's time to go home, he prefers to backtrack the way we came, instead of trying a new path home.


2. Lots of attention, combined with fetching a football or frisbee, makes for a more loving Hobie. He definitely becomes more cuddly and tolerable of us petting him. Strangely enough, Hobie's a dog that does not like to be petted.


3. He understands the words grumpy and growling. When we talk to him and mention either of these two words, he starts growling. He's such a grumpy old little schnauzer.


4. He likes to lick the towel when washing his dirty beard.