The Best Part of Having a Dog in Paris

Maggie and I, we're walkers. Even if it weren't for the dog, we'd probably do a lot of exploring on foot. But we definitely wouldn't do it right away, what with the craziness of unpacking (still not quite done) and stocking the house with living supplies (tp, pt, food, cleaning products, more food). It's been refreshing to get out of the house a few times a day, to be distracted from more "pressing" concerns than strolling around, enjoying the weather, taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of the city.

And we probably wouldn't take quite the same walks. See, Panda has a problem. She's less of a city dog than we'd like to think, and she refuses to eliminate on anything but grass. In Paris, dog-friendly grass is hard to come by (most little gardens and parks are fenced in with anti-dog postings), so we've already trekked far and wide to find the best Panda potty spots. We tried the Parc de Belleville (which should be called Parc de Bellevue, since it offers wondrous panoramas of the whole city), which was mostly closed to dogs but seemed to have a few promising patches of grass. We also tried the park that runs along both sides of the Canal St. Martin with similar results.

Luckily for us, it turns out that the best spot is also the closest one. Large, verdant, and dog-filled, the Parc des Buttes Chaumonts is a 7-minute walk from our place.

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Unfortunately, it's closed 9 pm - 7 am in the summer and longer in the winter, which means we may ultimately have to find somewhere else to go if Panda isn't to have to hold it for 12 hours every night.

Or, we could train/force Panda to learn to go on the pavement, like all the other normal Parisian dogs. I'd be really interested to know if anyone has ideas for how to accomplish that.

Meanwhile, I stepped in a Parisian's pooch's pungent present (I adore alliteration!) for the first time today. I'm hoping to keep track of the total count, much like the protagonist in the aptly-titled A Year in the Merde. You can follow along at home!

Poop-Steps: 1