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PICTURE:
The author and her pooch made a day of exploring dog-friendly spots on
the First Coast, including Red Bones Dog Bakery in Fernandina Beach.
Lewis and Clark.
Thelma and Louis. Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. These
famous friendships have stood for loyalty, love and
strength in American culture.
Like these duos, I too have been completed by another
being; one that always gets me through on even my worst
day, one that will always stick by me even when the
going gets tough. This one who will even lick my feet in
the morning to wake me up if I’m running late to work
(this isn’t as gross as it seems, trust me).
I’m talking about one of the loves of my life and my BFF,
Maggie Mae, a 2-year-old Japanese Chin dog.
Maggie first came into my life as a 10-week-old pup. I
decided to name her after the Beatles song, “Maggie Mae”
(and definitely not the Rod Stewart song because I could
never name an animal after a song performed by a man in
spandex).
Ever since, we have been virtually inseparable. She is
such a devoted dog, she will even sit in my lap
patiently when I watch TV shows like Are You Smarter
Than A Fifth Grader? and Full House reruns.
I decided that Maggie had to be rewarded for this level
of allegiance. So, since I know how much she loves
traveling and feeling her tongue flap wildly in the wind
(she has a freakishly long tongue), I thought the best
present she could receive is an entire day with me
trekking around Northeast Florida and finding the most
dog-friendly spots. So, I took the day off from work and
had the alarm set for early.
We started our day off early at 8 a.m. Our first stop –
hitting up my favorite culinary destination, McDonalds.
As I munched on a bacon, egg and cheese biscuit, Maggie
chomped on a peanut butter chewy I packed for the trip.
Now that we had our most important meal, we were ready
for our first real destination of the day – Dog Wood Dog
Park off of Salisbury Road on the Southside.
Dog Wood Dog Park is one of Maggie’s all-time fav
destinations. We usually hang out in the small-dog park
area (because she’s only an 11-pounder) on the weekends,
and after she plays with dogs her own size, we usually
mosey over to the big dog area and take a leisurely walk
along the lake or one of the nature trails.
Let me tell you, Monday morning at the dog park was
pretty much a bust. There were two dogs there, including
Maggie. She sadly moped around aimlessly. After she
climbed a small hill and paddled in a small pond, she
looked over at me helplessly.
However, once I pulled out her favorite toy, a stuffed
seal, she perked up and began to pick up some steam.
After about an hour of playing fetch and running around
with another dog that came later in the day, a West
Highland White Terrier, Maggie began to pant violently,
and I took that as our cue to leave.
After a quick hose down at the bathing station (for
Maggie), Maggie and I were off to Fernandina Beach.
Before the drive, I wanted to stop for a quick
refreshment and drove over to Native Sun on Baymeadows
Road.
At Native Sun, an organic and natural foods market,
there is a smoothie stand in the produce area. I quickly
ran in to grab a Cheeky Monkey smoothie (which consists
of strawberries, bananas, peaches and apple juice), and
Maggie and I relocated to the outdoor patio.
As I slurped on my smoothie, Maggie gulped down some
water to prepare for our hour-long car ride. After a
quick potty break (for Maggie), we loaded back up in the
car and hit I-95.
We headed toward Redbones Dog Bakery in Fernandina
Beach, one of the finest dog bakeries in Northeast
Florida. I had only heard about the bakery after a
friend ordered some of the treats online, and I thought
this would be the perfect finale for my day with my dog.
I didn’t really take into account how tired she would be
at this point in our voyage. I tried to move her from
the passenger seat to get my coat when we were passing
the airport, and she started growling (that’s her
signature move when she’s just too tired to deal with
me). So, I let her sleep it off until we arrived in
Fernandina.
After a little more than an hour of driving, we finally
came to the renowned Redbones Bakery. After a quick
potty break (for Maggie), we went in. As she explored
the bags, designer leashes and the bones, I picked out a
half a pound of assorted Redbones treats, which are
baked at the store everyday.
Twenty minutes later, Maggie began snoring slightly and
her head began to nod off, so I knew that it was time
for our day together to come to a close.
By the time we got home, Maggie went straight to her
bed, and only woke up for potty breaks and one of her
Redbones cookies (she especially liked the carob-chip
cookies, that look just like human chocolate chip
cookies).
After some reflection, I’ve realized that my dog makes
my day brighter every day I come home and wake up, and
it was so refreshing to devote a day to her, just like
she devotes every day to me. Just call us the next Romy
and Michelle.
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