Columbia Dogs on the Go

Yesterday was my first Meet Up with Columbia Dogs on the Go. The after work walk was scheduled at Lake Elkhorn in Columbia, and I was a little nervous to just kind of show up and meet new people. I've never thought of myself as a particularly shy person, but it would seem that I am in fact kind of a cowardly chicken woman in terms of just putting myself out there in new social situations. Thats the great thing about dogs though, they're fantastic social facilitators and even though Zoey was a little barky and WAY too excited at first, she mellowed out and we had a lot of fun. Next time I will be sure to take her on our morning walk, in addition to any evening meet ups that way hopefully there won't be so much antsy energy initially. It was a very nice group of people, and luckily there were a handful of newbies like me. Zoey made a bunch of friends including a mixed breed named Shadow, who was fully prepared to have Zoey's back when a German Shepherd got a little snappy, a tan mix named Eli, and his housemate Roxy. It's funny how I'm much better at remembering the dog's names than the names of their owners, but I'm guessing as I continue to go to different meet ups, the people's names will eventually follow.

I didn't go afterwards with some of the group to Pubdog, and I'm kind of regretting my decision to head home right after the walk. It would have been nice to have a beer and get to know some of the people better. Pubdog is definitely pretty fun, John and I went there for dinner one night. They're oh so dog friendly with a big patio and have water bowls outside for each table. All of their beers are dog-named/themed which is kind of cute. I opted not to go though, since I hadn't fed Zoey her dinner yet, and I felt guilty about staying out without getting some kibble in her belly. At least now I have a sense of what to expect, and will plan better for next time. I think the Meet Up website is a fantastic way to make some new friends and network a little bit, especially for people like me who have moved far enough away from home to get a little bit lonely sometimes. The Columbia Dogs on the Go group is very active and always has a bunch of activities in the works and the people are very welcoming. I'm proud of myself for being brave and trying something new and I'm so glad it's a way for Zoey to get some dog-time too.

www.columbiadogsonthego.org