A Quirky Column about Dog Walking Adventures in the City of Dog-Owning Love...

You can just feel the electricity in the air. The moon is full, dogs are excited that their owners are home, owners are upbeat because the work day is done and the mood is right for love and friendships down at Seger Run … under the lights … behind the SuperFresh on South Street.

If only the park was equipped with a DJ, or a gramophone, or some eclectic way to levitate owners and their dogs to a whole new level. Still, tails are wagging, business cards are being exchanged and deals are going down.

“Did you hear about the Dow plummeting today? Crazy. It like dropped 400 points or something.” Craig, the owner of a Miles the mastiff, unleashes his loyal friend and watches him migrate towards Bella, a delicate teacup poodle close to 100 pounds lighter than her new, admiring friend.

“I know, but some are speculating it was a computer error.” Bella’s mom, Kim, is keeping a close eye on her tiny companion and notices that Miles is nudging Bella gently with his nose.

“Yeah, so, even if it was a computer glitch or a misplaced zero or decimal, analysts say the psychological damage is done. It’s going to be tough to recover.” Craig sounds a little like Keanu Reeves in Speed, The Matrix and … hell, Keanu Reeves sounds the same in every movie.

“Did I hear that China had the same problem?”

“Yup, and they haven’t recovered.” Craig pauses, draws his foot in a line on the dirt in front of him then scratches the back of his neck with his left hand. “So, what do you do?”

“Oh, I’m in marketing. We put together slogans and campaigns for a lot of local clientele. I like it, but I’m thinking of going back to school for something totally different like anthropology. What do you do?” Kim blushes a little. She’s trying desperately to not care about what his response will be. It doesn’t matter whether he says he’s a parking booth attendant or a CEO of a major software firm, right? Right. Of course it doesn’t matter. Jeez. I’m not that shallow.

More about Canine Love Connections after the jump...

“I’m a lawyer. I handle insurance fraud and make sure people aren’t taking advantage.”

“Hmmm.” Kim’s relieved, but feels a little ashamed that the whole career thing crossed her mind and did matter.

The conversation ensued and eventually the two exchanged e-mail addresses. Dog run meet-ups like these are classic. They’re sort of like spontaneous speed dates minus the three-minute bell. So, I was thinking, someone out there would do well to create a site called Canine Connections: Walk Your Hound and Find Some Love. I mean, people might joke about dogs being chick magnets, or man magnets, but it’s true. Dogs become the vehicles through which we can connect with other people. Dogs serve as mentors in a way.

For the most part, our four-legged friends have no problem approaching others of their kind in social situations. Think about it. What’s the first thing they do when other furry creatures are around? They greet them with a butt sniff. Then, after a good whiff, they’re ready to wrestle, frolic and play. And there are no hard feelings about the whole sniffing business. It’s just protocol.

Dogs, in their liberation from inhibition, nudge humans along. They are our teachers, mentoring us on how to break free from the isolation we create for ourselves in this age of e-mail relationships and work-obsessed individuals. Without our canines, connecting with other human beings in a more intimate way can be like trying to extract a molar without Novocain. We need our dogs.

And canine connections work. They really do. Case in point: last June, a man named Danny and his dog, Scrappy Sally, walked over to Marconi Plaza—a park located all the way down in South Philly. At the same time, a woman named Carol found herself in the same park with her dog, Jax. Scrappy Sally and Jax clicked instantly. Unable to separate them, Danny and Carol struck up a conversation about how attracted their dogs were to each other. After about 45 minutes, the dogs wandered back to their owners and Carol and Danny parted ways.

Three months later, the two dog owners found themselves crossing paths at the park again. Jax and Scrappy Sally were attracted too each other like long lost pals, and Carol and Danny found themselves conversing as if their last encounter never ended.

Things went so well, in fact, that Danny struck up the nerve to ask Carol out on a formal date. A week later they dined at an Italian restaurant, and four months later they vacationed in Antigua Bay. They’re still together today and Scrappy Sally and Jax seem to possess an instinct about their owners—as if they knew the couple was destined to come together.

For them and for hundreds more, it’s amore. It’s doggone attraction. It’s a Canine Connection among dog walkers in the City of Dog-Owning Love.

Image via Ian Britton