His Girl Pearl

A feeling of dread overcomes me as I imagine the point in my life when my friends get married and start having children.  Gone are the ladies nights, the impromptu Sunday Funday, and irresponsible shopping sprees only to be replaced by baby budgets and sitters calling out.  I always associated that point in life as "the end"...you get there, you get fat, and then you die.  I was a pessimistic teen.  As I've gotten older, the feelings have changed.  This past weekend, I experienced the feeling new moms feel when they get together with friends and watch their babies play together for the first time.....ok maybe not to that extreme.  But I did have my very first play-date with a friend's new adopted pit-mix!  Baby steps.

Pearl was adopted three weeks ago from a shelter in Pennsylvania.  She's a black and white pocket size pit mix with a huge amount of strength, energy, and incredibly cute facial expressions.  Obviously it was love at first sight when Harry and Pearl met.  We brought them to the unofficial official dog park of Fairmount, which is a loosely fenced in area that the Saturday farmers market is held.  Philadelphia should seriously consider turning that into a park.  Does Leslie Knope do free lance work? 

 The date was spent sniffing, sprinting, and tackling as Harry and Pearl got to know each other better.  Harry cheated a bit during tag by chomping onto Pearl's adorable pink argyle collar, but otherwise we were impressed by his speed and Pearl's ability to keep up.  Eventually they ended up playing keep away and tug of war with a tasty stick.  Things got even more interesting when a couple of other dogs showed up, a gentle shy beagle mix and a giant Saint Bernard rescue named Simon.  135 pounds of massive dog lives in a Fairmount home somewhere which is impressive considering the size of most Philadelphia digs.  What's better is he was that big when he was rescued which means his parents are awesome.

 At the end, Harry was pooped and Pearl was sad to see him go - but mission accomplished we ended up with a tired happy dog.  When I go back to thinking about those "friends with kids" it's actually not so bad.  Yes, at this point in my life I'm talking fur-babies, but it's really great socializing with your friends while watching your "kids" play.  Especially when that kid has as much energy as Harry.  Plus, I get to talk dog stuff that a lot of my friends without "kids" can't relate to.  It won't be long before we're reaching out again to see if Pearl can come out and play!