doggies doggies everywhere

I had many perceptions of Manhattan before arriving.

Most of these perceptions turned out to be false... which makes living here all the more exciting.

My most recent inaccurate perception that was debunked: "there aren't many dogs in Manhattan."

My logic:

1) apartment life doesn't allow for dogs, especially big dogs (there are apartments here that can barely house one person... why add a dog to the mix?)

2) dogs need yards to play in and there are no yards in Manhattan.

3) where do the dogs go pee?

Pretty logical, right?

Wrong.

1) apartment life apparently does allow for not only small dogs... but big dogs. (unless all the dogs I see on the streets are commuting into Manhattan every day...)

2) the dogs might not have yards to play in, but as the picture to the right shows, there are off-leash areas where they can get together for doggie-dates.

3) Well... this one is a little hard for me to accept... but well, our furry friends relieve themselves on the sidewalk or curb or road. And sometimes, if you're lucky, you can get a waft of one of these smells totally unexpectedly...

For certain things, I'm not happy to be proven wrong (I'm a woman after all, and we like to be right), but for something like this, I'm content that my overactive imagination led me to yet another faulty conclusion. I adore dogs and can't wait to get a couple of our own one day.

A few days ago, I found out that we're allowed to have animals in our building, and although it's tempting to go out and buy a cute little puppy with floppy ears (and believe me, I've already proposed it to my husband), I know I must resist.

Soon, hopefully... once we have a yard and a porch and a little bungalow of our own, we will have some happy dogs wreaking havoc in our lives and tearing up our grass.