Wag Your Tail and Say Hello: Dogs Teach a Good Lesson in Neighborliness

My friend Susan, who lives in Waterchase, said something interesting to me the other day. 

She said, "I know a lot of people in my neighborhood by the dogs that I see them with."

That got me thinking about the guy in my neighborhood who walks the border collie and the lady that walks her terrier six times a day.  I don't know their names, but I know their dogs. 

That realization made me glance over at my shelter dog, who now enjoys a life of cushioned bliss on my couch, and wonder what people thought when they saw her dragging me down the street.

Am I known as the lady with the crazy dog?

Love 'em or hate 'em, dogs contribute a good bit to the everyday comedy that is suburban living.  In Highland Park, we have the barkers, the escape artists, the hypoallergenic, the mutts, the pure-breds, the super-duper tiny, the ridiculously big, the good walkers, and the not-so-good walkers, like mine.

Dogs are as unique as the people that live in a community.

Where dogs provide their most important contribution to a neighborhood is by forcing us out of our homes and into the outside world.  Their over-enthusiastic greetings and shameless butt-sniffing forces us to talk to one another.  It is their desire to be social that often breaks the ice for all of us.  I can only imagine how many friendships have been started in between licks and sniffs.

Most of us could probably benefit from taking a page from our furry friends.  Obviously, our enthusiasm doesn't have to be on par with a dog's, but a heart-felt "hello" to a neighbor would probably go a long way.  Maybe if I start following my own advice, I can find out the names of the people holding the leashes in my neighborhood.  And just maybe, they will give me some pointers because their dogs are much better behaved than mine.

Tell me why you (or your dog) love where you live!  This blog is about finding out what makes each Northwest Tampa community great.  I would love to feature your neighborhood in my next blog!

Melanie Atkinson is a Westchase area REALTOR with Future Home Realty and can be reached at 813-368-6084 or melanie.atkinson@verizon.net