REX AND THE CITY, Part XIX - Riding in Cars With Dogs

In which we go to great lengths to find ways to calm down an easily-excited car dog.

Finding ways to calm down an easily-excited car dog. Rehabilitating shelter dogs in NYC. Falling victim to dog-product marketing.

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Hello Dear Readers—

Welcome to another installment of REX AND THE CITY—a series which appeared in the late, great Bark magazine. This is another one of my all-time favorite pieces from my Rex (whose real name was Wallace) series. This piece is quite amusing, if I do say so myself :)  And rereading this brings up so many fond (and exasperating) memories of trying to find ways to keep Wallace calm on car rides. I am sure at least one dog person out there will be able to relate to some of what I describe here.  

More than twenty-years later, I still miss my exuberant, hyped-up dog, and I also miss my complicated marriage. Even when times were frustrating or challenging or even painful, it was still life--loud and vibrant and tactile and ever-changing. We are all mortal beings in a mortal realm, so each moment of living, breathing life is quite the wonder; quite the celebration.

So here’s to all the dogs who just can’t wait to get to the next joyful moment.  And thank you Wallace, and Chloe, and Ed, for all those moments-to-moments of joy.   

Now, on to the piece—pasted below as page PDFs.

This 19th installment of the REX AND THE CITY/REX IN THE CITY series—“Riding in Cars with Dogs” —originally appeared in Bark magazine, Volume 33, Dec 2005, Copyright © Lee Harrington (writing as Lee Forgotson and E. M. Harrington). Illustrations copyright Bark and the credited artists.I have no affiliation or agreement with any advertisers shown—those are all old ads from the original print edition.