To the dog park we go!

I have had this story in my mind for quite some time. I have experienced a bit of a "writers" block as to how to begin, so here goes..
I have been a member of  a Small Dog Meet Up Group since Fred was old enough to attend, I'd say around 6 months or so. He had to get his vaccinations and such before we could attend. Anyway, every other Sunday or so we would go, it was indoors, and there were plenty of fun things to play with and obstacles to climb, Fred seemed to enjoy it. At that time, Fred loved to be chased, he would go up to one of the small dogs and jump around and bow "dogs invitation to play" and take off running hoping for a good chase, it was pretty fun to watch. Every so often he would come and jump in my lap to make sure I was "OK" and then run off and play some more.  After a while, I grew weary of all the little dogs barking in their little high pitched non stop yapping. There was one dog that just stood in the middle of the play area and barked..non stop, indoors ugh. Every time we were there, so was this little dog, it was like he was directing traffic or something, who knows. The other people there would give the owner the stink eye, but nothing was ever done to stop the racket. It was like she was so proud of her "Little Barker". I couldn't take it any more, so we left. Our visits grew fewer and farther in between, until we finally stopped going all together, I think Fred started to get tired of the noise too because the last time we went, he really wasn't into it that much. For the next year and a half or so we pretty much stayed home and kept each other company.
Last February and e-mail popped into my inbox inviting us to a Small Dog Meet-up in a couple of weeks. I thought about it for a while, then started searching for Boston Terrier groups in my area and I found one! I was thrilled, I thought it would be so neat to meet other crazy Boston owners and talk about how great these little dogs were and so on a so forth. I noticed that there was a meet-up the following Saturday and promptly joined the Boston Terrier Meet-up group and RSVP'd for the outdoor meet-up. I was so excited, the weather looked like it would be decent. (45 degrees and partly sunny) I was really looking forward to watching Fred romp around and play with other little dogs that looked like him, how fun! I was already contemplating on what I was going to wear for cripes sake, this was a big deal for me, and Fred!
Well the day finally arrived, we packed up some poo poo bags, a bottle of water and a bowl, leash, collar, camera, we were all set. We pulled up into the parking lot, there were lots of dogs, large ones, small ones, all kinds, everywhere. Fred was really excited, he was squealing with excitement, I gathered my things and searched for the Bostons. Well apparently the meet-up group actually reserves a designated spot for a certain amount of time, so there was an enclosed area that had double gates for us to go through. I must have had a huge grin on my face, I could hardly contain myself, I was so happy to see these other dogs and their owners. We strolled into the enclosure and I walked over to a couple and said hello, I greeted their little dog and proceeded to take Fred off of his leash. He just stood there, unmoving. There was a little Boston that was playing a rousing game of fetch with his owner, a few other dogs that were chasing each other around, and Fred just stood there.

It was kinda funny to see a big burly biker dude playing fetch with his little dog. His dog is brown and white, a bit hard to see here, but boy, that little dog was fast!

 The kind gentleman that I was standing next to, stooped down and gave Fred a comforting pat, stood back up and before I knew it or could even react, Fred peed on the guys leg. OH GOD! I was mortified, he didn't know, and I had to point it out. I apologized profusely, and before I knew it another little Boston strode up to Fred and proceeded to "mount" him, Fred bonked his head on the metal fence post while that was going on, it was awful. I quickly walked Fred away from that to see if he would get comfortable just walking with me, he pooped, I scooped, then I looked down at him and he was drooling! Not just a little drool, this drool was coming from both sides of his mouth and hanging down in big fat strings, he looked like a walrus, I took a picture but you can't really see it. You can see how miserable he his, back all hunched up.

This poor little guy was a wreck, I felt awful for him. We walk back to the group, Fred's still drooling and now shivering just for good measure. There was a pregnant lady that we walked by who was stooped down talking to her little dog and Fred almost peed on her. That was it, I'd had enough, and obviously Fred was really done with this. So, long story short, it was a bust. I never really had a conversation with anyone.

Fred is showing me the way to freedom.

I have not given up though, I will try again. Next time I will wait for better weather, it was pretty cold and breezy that day.