How a chance encounter at the dog park led to a 10-year love affair — for my dog!

Sweet and happy Simon on a walk.

I had no intention of going into the dog park the day we met Simon. Still a brand-new dog owner who was nervous about everything, I was especially afraid of letting my completely untrained, 60-pound tornado off her leash anywhere in public, even inside a securely fenced area.

But as I tried to walk past the park, a sweet-looking dog ran up to the fence. Though he was very interested in meeting my dog, and she was just as interested in meeting him, I tried to remain outside. I told his owner all my fears, but she just smiled them off, assuring me everything would be fine — and something about Noreen convinced me to take Ripley inside to play with Simon.

That was not only cool, but one of the coolest things ever. Because we all fell in love that day: The dogs with each other, the humans with watching them play.

Immediately, Simon and Ripley began wrestling and chasing each other like they were already the best of friends. And they stayed the best of friends for the next 10 years.

The day Simon and Ripley met.

They bonded so well because they were both about a year old, and both herding dog mixes: Ripley a blend of German and McNab Shepherds, and Simon a cattle dog mixed with lab. 

Herding dogs can play fast and rough, often intimidating other dogs who don’t like to be chased, corralled or even nipped, but Simon and Ripley got along so well that his owner Noreen and I began meeting regularly at the dog park so they could play. 

Soon the dogs invented their own game we called The Ball Game. Simon would lie down with a tennis ball in his mouth, then Ripley would lie down next to him and try to pull the ball out. Simon would growl playfully, his stumpy tail wagging, as the dogs pulled on the ball, their heads bobbing back and forth. As the game progressed, Simon would lie on his back to give Ripley better access to the ball, while still keeping it firmly in his mouth.

When Noreen and I learned we lived only two blocks from each other, we started hosting play dates in our back yards, where the dogs were free to run, wrestle and play the Ball Game without interruption from other dogs. Sometimes Ripley would get the ball out, but most of the time the dogs were happy just to lie there together, “making out,” for as long as us humans wanted to watch.

Over the next ten years, Noreen and I walked our dogs together many times a week, so Simon and Ripley enjoyed hundreds of evening strolls together. We also traded pet-sitting duties, with her making many a road trip possible for my husband and me because of her volunteering to check on our cats. And those are just some of the countless good things created by that first play session in November of 2012.

Sad-but-happy update: I’m sad to report that Noreen died in early 2022 of cancer, but I am also happy to report that her daughter quickly found Simon another home. One of her friends in Oregon has a small child, and wanted to adopt an older dog like Simon who was calm and already trained.

I miss both Noreen and Simon, and am very sad that Ripley and Simon don’t get to see each other anymore. But I am so grateful for all the time we got to spend together, and cannot thank Noreen enough for convincing me to go into the dog park that first day.