Today is a sad & happy day. Sad for us because we had to say “Goodbye” to Mocha. Happy for Mocha because he’s found a great new family to take care of him.

We met the other couple today at Mocha’s favorite dog park. He took an instant liking to them, and they to him.

We took our time and searched long & hard for the right family. It makes us so happy to see that we’ve found the right family for him.

As we drove away, we watched Mocha playfully catching & fetching tennis balls with them. He was so happy that he didn’t notice we had left. Part of us wanted him to look over and notice our absence, but part of us also wanted him to be happy with his new family and accept them right away. It seems he will be doing that.

Goodbye Mocha. We love you, will miss you terribly, and will always remember you. We hope & know you will have a wonderful life with your new family!

Bark bark bark! Woof woof woof. Woof woof woof. Woof woof woof. Yip yip!

Translated from Dog:

I love playing catch! Sometimes I’ll jump high for the ball. Other times, I’ll run really fast to get it. And once in a while, I’ll do something goofy like flip in the air or stand up straight to catch it. What fun!

Woof woof woof? Woof woof woof? Bark bark… whine. Bark bark bark!

Translated from Dog:

Hey, why did that human put the ball way up there? How am I supposed to get it? Maybe if I jump… hmm no, that didn’t work. Darn you human!

Mocha loves playing fetch. Unfortunately, he only likes the first half of fetch – the “I’ll go get the ball” part.

The “And I’ll bring it back” part? Not so much.

Mocha got pwned (and humped) at the dog park today. Many times over. (Perhaps cosmic payback for humping Cabbie?) But he didn’t care. All he was focused on was the ball. While the other dog was focused on, erm, Mocha’s balls.

Bark bark bark! Bark bark bark! Woof woof bark woof woof woof. Woof woof woof. Yip yip! Woof woof woof.

Translated from Dog:

Oh boy, I made a new buddy today! And with a pit bull! I haven’t had much luck with pit bulls, but this guy was really friendly and playful, just like me. He loved running around as much as I did. What fun! I love making new friends.

I think the little fellah is trying to tell us something.

Look at this guy, hording all the balls. Each time we played fetch, he would drop the ball off in this spot instead of returning it to us. Pretty soon, he had cornered all the balls at the dog park. Greed. It’s an ugly thing.

A romp at the dog park and a three-mile run didn’t do it. A two-hour uphill hike didn’t do it. So we decided to take drastic measures.

We decided to take Mocha on a Mocha Marathon. Run three miles to the dog park, then the usual fetch, followed by a three-mile run back home. And lots of water in between, of course. That oughta tire him out once and for all!

To be totally honest, the runs and hikes do tire Mocha out. As soon as he gets home, he collapses to the floor and sleeps for a good hour or three. But then he’s up and active again, as if he’s been sleeping for days. I blame it on his damned Jack Russell Terrier half.

We could also be a victim of our own doing. Perhaps we’ve been exercising Mocha so well that he’s a mass of fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscle now. Damn.

So how did Mocha do from his Mocha Marathon today?

He slept pretty much the rest of the evening. Not a peep from him. I had to poke him to make sure he was still alive. Success!

Except… next time, we’ll probably have to do eight miles to tire him out. Greaaat…

As soon as we entered the park, a pit bull gunned right for Mocha. Apparently, the pit bull sensed Mocha’s fear and lunged towards him. This noticeably made Mocha even more frightened, so he ran off. Perhaps his previous encounter with a pit bull didn’t help.

Suddenly, there was a chase. Most of the other dogs joined in. Pretty soon, there was Mocha, tail between his legs, galloping as fast as he could away from a torrent of teeth and barks. In the front of the pack was the pit bull.

The pit bull’s owner jumped in and tore her dog away. As soon as she did that, the pack stopped chasing and Mocha shivered between our legs.

The owner apologized. “My dog sensed your dog’s fear. That’s why he chased him,” she explained.

Okay, great. So if she knew that, why didn’t she hold back her fear-sensing pit bull back until Mocha entered the park and became acclimated? I’ve seen other dog owners do that before with their aggressive dogs. Once a new dog enters the territory and becomes accepted by the pack, then the aggressive dog is let free and able to inspect the new dog him/herself.

While the owner was chasing her pit bull around, I heard other dog owners mutter comments like, “Why did she bring him in there?” “Doesn’t she know there’s a dog park for large dogs around the corner?” “What a vicious dog.” One mother even pulled her daughter back from trying to pet the pit bull.

After the fiasco, we retreated to a faraway corner of the dog park. We played fetch with Mocha, which cheered him up immensely. Then I looked up and noticed that the pit bull and owner had left.

Dog owners need to control their dogs. It’s fine, and perhaps even recommended, to socialize their dogs in a dog park. But a dog with a potentially aggressive temperament may need some Cesar Milan magic before playing with others. In my humble opinion, it’s common courtesy and responsible dog ownership.