Monday, May 24, 2010

Chicagoing: Our Neighborhood

Our neighborhood has seen a lot of changes since I moved in eight years ago. The area has a mixture of folks that have grown up in this part of Chicago and others that have moved into the area to make it their home. (in front of Uprise Skateboard Shop with the skateboarder from Lupe Fiasco's Kick Push video inside checking out the pooches)
We are part of the latter group and before A and Ms. M moved in, I rarely interacted with those that grew up or lived in this neighborhood for over a decade. Actually I only talked to the three other people that lived in my building. When A and Ms. M moved in, we started meeting random dog people whenever we walked Ms. M around the neighborhood. Then the number of people we met increased almost exponentially when we adopted Mr. B. It seemed like almost everyone wanted to talk to us and ask us about our dogs. We went from only knowing four people on our street to almost everyone on our street. Now this really feels like our neighborhood, where we stop almost every block to talk to our neighbors.The great thing is that we meet people in areas that surround our neighborhood. Whenever we walk the pooches, people will stop us to ask us questions, show us pictures of their dogs (mainly pit bulls and other bullys) and even go into their house or car to bring out their dog. These areas, including our neighborhood, have a very diverse racial and socioeconomic makeup and we love the fact that because of our pooches we are meeting all sorts of people. Even though Chicago is very diverse, rarely do people venture out of their circle and we love how the pooches have introduced us to such a great group of neighborhood friends and other acquaintances throughout Chicago.

10 comments:

Rescued Pittie Family said...

Your kids are strikingly beautiful - I'm surprised you get very far at all on your walks. I'm sure everyone who sees them wants to pet them and get an up-close look.
That's a joy of city living - they get a lot of human interaction.
My kids get to play with the kids in our cul-de-sac but other than that they only get admired from afar.

Mack said...

Aren't dogs wonderful that way??!

Sugars,
Mack

Anonymous said...

My mom said that she thinks she knows a little bit about what it is to be a famous person whenever she takes us for a walk. Being a kitteh person prior to adopting Brudder Ranger, she said she had no idea how having a doggie would attract people to wanna talk. There's also lotsa dogs in our neighborhood that mom knows THEIR names but not the peoples they live with. Haha!

Wiggles & Wags,
Mayzie

Shauna (Fido and Wino) said...

I *love* how dogs link people- love it :)

Two French Bulldogs said...

No wonder you guys have so many new friends, you're adorable. Your neighborhood looks pretty cool. Have a fun walk
Benny & Lily

houndstooth said...

I've experienced the same thing with our dogs. It's amazing how easily dogs break down our barriers with other people!

Kari in Alaska said...

isn't that feeling of neighborhood amazing?

Anonymous said...

Chicago really looks like a place my hoomans could picture themselves living! I thinks it looks cool too... And I would have already 2 friends :)

See what happens next with my hoomans work :)

Slobbers Master T.

PS: we love all your pictures!!!!

Dottie said...

That's a great story! Makes me want a Chicago dog (not the kind on a bun).

the booker man said...

i'm convinced that having a dog (or two!) with you is the best way to meet new people. :)

the booker man and asa's mama

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