Kong toys and doggie-fountains

Somewhere around late July-early August I adopted my dog, Lucy from a local shelter. Since that time, I have come to realize that I am not just a dog owner, I have crossed into another cultural lifestyle, exclusive to pet owners, dogs specifically. There are so many extra things that come with having a dog... (granted, not comparable to having children, but a shock just the same). I now have several debits on the account to places like Pet Smart, IncrediPet, etc.. . and it's not just for necessities, oh no. Mine and Lucy's eyes both light up when we go to look for a new dog toy... Brightly colored mountains of toys line the isles with any dog-toy preference you could ask for: big toys, little toys, medium sized, "durable" toys, toys for tugging, toys to stick treats inside, toys with squeakers and without..., toys that clean teeth, and toys that un-ravel making a huge mess on the floor and tear up the vacuum (not my favorite). Collars are another accessory with choices similar to a Baby Gap. Lucy and I even have our preferred dog bathing cloths and doggie perfume spray (with conditioners). Just yesterday we were visiting Pet Smart and I saw that I had missed the dog-costume contest.... I admit. I was a little disappointed.
Yesterday we also went to the dog park, a very unique place that I had never known of until moving up here. The dog park is definitely a large part of many apartment dog-owners' lives. It's a section of a park... fenced in... with plenty of room for all the dogs to run. A bit of a strange concept, and I was skeptical at first, but Oh My Gosh they should charge admittance and sell Starbucks at the door!! There is Always someone at the dog park!! Sunday mornings, Saturday nights, it doesn't matter. These people are die-hard! Several evenings the police have had to come and tell the "dog-park-people" to leave, that the park was closing! And if you go regularly, you will see the same rotation of people (and dogs). People bring lounge chairs, books, frisbees, and sometimes their own children. They even make "play-dates" with other dog owners..(now, I'm not that into it.) And a little water fountain was recently installed, made especially for dogs. It's really quite clever!
So who knew this whole other world existed?! lol, I certainly didn't. Who knew that a few months after bringing Lucy home, I'd practically have a dog collar collection and a favorite bench while chattin it up with dog park- regulars... Seriously though, the coffee idea? It's true. People would love it.