It’s Good to Be a Dog in New York
It’s been a couple of times already that I heard a following sentence here: “When in New York, be careful of expressing opinions on two things: people’s kids and people’s dogs”. And even though most people will agree with the first part (nobody wants to mess with the parents), you may be skeptical as to the second. And yet you shouldn’t, at least not in this city.
Pets, and dogs especially, enjoy a position of privilege over here. I love dogs more than I can say, and their well-being is always important to me, but still there are limits even I wouldn’t dare to cross.
The fact that NYC is a city run by dog lovers will become apparent to you especially in the morning, when the half-asleep dwellers of Manhattan are taking their beloved pets for their walks. A feather jacket, warm hat, sun glasses and a coffee cup in hand – you will see folks like that at every corner. At times you may not fully register that they are in fact “walking” their dogs, since they often put their four-legged friends into small carts. The dog is riding along instead of walking. Why? I really cannot say.
More often than not, you will also see dogs wearing clothes, ranging from casual attire to quite formal one – just in case the doggie needs to attend a fancy cocktail party all of a sudden. Stores with dog supplies are literally everywhere. Shoes for dogs are also popular. The owners explain the need for those with the necessary protection of delicate paws from the salt that’s sprinkled on NYC streets in winter.
In Manhattan, you will also meet special places for dogs – something like daycare centers for dogs to stay at when their owners are at work – as well as dog parks, with the owners sitting on benches and their pets prancing around with their fellow lucky canine dwellers of Manhattan. I like those places a lot, since they allow me to look at happy dogs. It’s a wonderful dog’s life, indeed.
