Dugan the Dog (he's a mighty fine hound!) "The Prince of Irish Wolfhounds": Dugan the Dog goes on a walk!

Dugan really likes to go on walks. It’s an adventure for him to smell things on the way, and he has some favorite spots he likes to check each time for messages left by other dogs. But the real thrill for him is being greeted by people he happens to meet on the way. He just loves it when people take a minute to speak to him and give him a friendly rub on the ears.

We usually take the same route each time and it is 1.8 miles long. Now that the weather is cool enough we will go about three times a week. He can’t take the heat, so he has missed out on walks until the last few weeks. I have seen the temperature at midnight still be around 100F during the hottest part of Summer. Dugan spends a lot of time on the cool kitchen floor in the summer and doesn’t stay outside for any length of time unless it is in the morning around sunrise.

Dugan has some favorite people he sees on occasion when walking, and they love to see him too. He likes the people that work in a dentist office close to our home and they are sometimes leaving work when we are walking through their parking lot. There is one little gal that works there that Dugan loves, and when he stands next to her he can almost reach up and sniff her chin. He loves to see “Big John” (who lives on the next street over) if he is outside when we go by. We call him “Big John” because he is a large athletic man who isn’t afraid to play a little rough with Dugan. Dugan also loves Melissa; she always loves him up too. And Dugan is always happy to see Mr. Cox and his dog Sage.

Earlier this year, around Easter time we were walking when Dugan met some little children for the first time. Even though they were only big enough to look Dugan square in the face, they were not afraid of him and within a few seconds they were hugging and kissing him. Dugan thought he was in heaven. He is truly a “Gentle Giant”. As I have said before, Dugan loves all people. It is beyond his understanding why everyone doesn’t want to make his acquaintance and love him up. But some people are afraid of any dog, and especially large ones. Not all dogs are as friendly as the Irish Wolfhound, so unless you are acquainted with a dog, it isn’t a good idea to expect that it will be nice like Dugan the Dog.

Here are some pictures of Dugan the Dog that we took today on our walk through the neighborhood. Because it is Thanksgiving Day, a lot of people were outside doing things. Dugan had a great time and showed his usual genteel manners.