Francis Park, Round 2

In the car, leaving the park

Last night, on our second trip to Francis Park, Mabel was just perfect. Her fear of humans seems to be turning into a fascination with them. I wondered if, despite her progress Saturday night, she might at least start this venture nervous again, huddling in close to my legs or trying to move to the other side of my body, away from people when they passed, like she did at the start of her first trip to the park. She didn't. From the beginning of the walk, instead of turning away from passersby, she turned toward them, turning her head all the way around to watch them pass (she has to turn her head because as we walk down the right side of the sidewalk, people pass on her left, on her blind side). She slowed down ever so slightly a few times, but her tail did not tuck--it stayed up and several times even wagged. A couple times when people passed us from behind, she behaved as if she wanted to catch up with them, tail wagging away. She tried to sniff at least one person's shoes. Because we arrived at the park later than planned, and dark was catching up with us, our walk was much shorter than the previous one, but it was also hot and humid, so the half-hour stroll was just about right. We sat on a bench again at the end, and Mabel watched curiously but calmly as walkers, joggers, cyclists, and dog-walkers passed. Near the end, out of the blue, she barked at one jogger who passed (after having been completely unbothered by a dozen others), and we're not sure why she did it--it's possible that something else in that moment (e.g., a noise, a flash of car headlights) startled her or that Mabel wasn't paying attention, and because the woman came from her left, Mabel didn't notice the jogger until she was right in front of her. But whatever the reason, it was one bark from a sitting position, and then she was fine.

We don't think she's at the point yet where a stranger could approach her directly and interact with her without initially scaring her, but that day may not be far off! Watching this change in her--and seeing how quickly it's happening--is just astonishing.