Finding Joy
When Tim first died, it felt like all the joy in the world had been sucked out of the world in an instant. I soon learned that I could still feel happiness during this grieving period, but I had to look for it really hard. One outing we did to bring some smiles was take Pascale to a local Austin spot, “Barking Springs.”
It’s something Tim and I had talked about doing for years, but BT isn’t good off leash and Eliot is too aggressive to play with the other dogs. We mentioned taking Pascale, but felt like Eliot would be really upset left alone at the house. On Friday, I decided Eliot could just deal with being a little upset and my friend and I loaded up Pascale with some drinks and my camera.
Barking Springs is an unofficial off leash dog park that is made up of the runoff from the water of Barton Springs Pool. The pool is fed by a natural spring, so the runoff area is a mix of a rushing creek and natural wading pool. It’s all taken over by a mix of dogs, children, people and the occasional group of annoying drunk homeless people… but it wouldn’t be Austin without drunk homeless people. That’s just how we roll here.
My friend and I watched the dogs play for about two hours. At first Pascale was pretty timid. She would run behind other dogs and of course, sniff a lot of butts.
She also loved wading in the water that was up to her chest. Not a huge swimmer, Pascale prefers to just splash around and enjoy being cool in the Texas summer. One thing she did that made me laugh was take her nose and run it through the water like a plow.
After some time, Pascale got a bit braver. She found some dogs that were playing fetch, and one of her favorite games at home is to chase Eliot when we play fetch in the back yard. This game continued at Barking Springs when she found a retrieving obsessed Labrador. The lab would chase the stick its owner through, and Pascale would chase after the lab. She said it was delightful fun.
Dogs are incredible creatures in a lot of ways, but mostly how they have the ability to be boundlessly happy. They have simple emotions, and don’t hide them. Happy dogs are happy dogs. If you stay around them long enough, you can’t help but catch a little bit of that happiness.
27 thoughts on “Finding Joy”
My dogs have gotten me through many tough times. That Bully face is very much like my bullmastiff – who simply has the happiest of happy grins!
Day made!! This makes me want to come to Austin just for the dog park. My dogs are natural swimmers and they may just die of happiness if they go there. 🙂 Love love love!!!!
Dogs are just great. I don’t know what I’d do without one..or two… 🙂
What an awesome place. Dogs have healing powers, without a doubt.
Dogs are amazing creatures, I can’t imagine life without them.
Love this! Your pooch looks so happy! And it’s true, you can’t stay too far down with happy dogs bouncing around everywhere.
I’m so glad you found some joy.. those pictures are wonderful! & dogs are magical. 🙂
Dogs are so good for the soul. I love that pic of her behind the lab, she is absolutely adorable.
Pascale pup looks like she had a lot of fun! Glad you are finding some joy here and there. 🙂
Beautiful photos, especially the last 2 with such happy smiling dog faces! =) Sounds like a really cool place, so glad you have your pups.
Sounds like a great place to go! Dogs are pretty darn great for finding joy. Glad it could bring a smile! In addition to happy dogs, I also highly recommend happy baby goats. Pretty sure a goat park would be hysterical…
great pictures – everyone looks so happy! i can definitely see how it would be impossible to not be happy when surrounded by all those dogs!
Ah, how can you not smile at those photos?? Thank you for sharing!
What a great place. And great photos of such happy dogs
Happy dogs are really amazing.
Nice pictures. I used to love going to Barton Springs. It’s great that there’s a canine annex. 😀
I read something not too long ago about why people should have dogs, especially people dealing with depression, or old age, or loneliness … Dogs live completely in the moment and that kind of attitude is infectious. Dogs encourage us to play and be joyful. It’s hard to find a better therapeutic activity than playing with your dog. :0)
That place is awesome! They all look so happy and Pascale is adorable, as always.
What a fun doggy place to take Pascale!
Just looking at those pictures put a smile on my face! My dad once told me that a happy dog overflows with happiness, and it always seems to rub off on the people around it.
Wonderful, happy pics. Pascale is sure a pretty dog!
That looks and sounds like so much fun. P looks like she is having a blast – in fact all the lovely pooches pictured do. What a wonderful idea for a dog park!
They really are the happiest creatures.
Rocky is my first dog, and it’s amazing just how honest and simple he is emotionally. It really grounds me and even when I’m upset, if his tail is wagging, I can’t help but smile!
This is so so true. It’s hard to be sad around a happy dog. Love your pics.
Dogs have some of the most beautiful smiles. I LOVE those pics of Pascale!
I love your photography and the way you write