Millie’s First Birthday

[BARKING]

One of the incredible things about a New York City dog run is the diversity of people you meet– not just the diversity of dogs, and you can see there’s all types of dogs here, but their owners are diverse, as well. It can be a really, really interesting place to meet people.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

A couple of blogs ago, I introduced you to my puppy, Millie, a golden retriever. And I got a lot of emails asking, how do you raise a dog in New York City, a city that’s full of glass and steel and cement? And one big answer to that question is that we have a wonderful system of dog runs here in New York City that are neighborhood-based.

And right now, we’re at the Chelsea Waterside Dog Run right across from the Hudson River in downtown New York City on the far West Side. And this is where Millie comes every day to play. She’s a very busy puppy. She has an active social life and a bunch of friends that she loves to hang out with for an hour or two every day at the dog run. It’s great exercise. And they get to hone their social skills.

And I think I’d like to introduce you to some of her friends here, both canine and human. And another thing is that today is Millie’s one-year birthday. So we’re going to celebrate a little bit with some of the other dogs and some of the other dog owners. I would like to introduce the users of the guidepostsmag.com website to the most important person in Millie’s life and my wife, Julee Cruise.

Hi. So two million dogs in Manhattan, and people think that it’s not a good place to raise a dog. And, in fact, it’s a wonderful place to raise a dog. Millie, however, is the prettiest.

[LAUGHING]

Of all the 2 million dogs in New York.

She is.

I think you would all agree with us.

She’s the most popular girl in her run.

I want you to meet a very special person in Millie’s life. This is Jane Kopelman, who is– who is Millie’s trainer and worked with her a lot when she was a puppy. So Jane, for someone who’s thinking about a dog or just got a dog, what are the three top tips from a trainer like you that they can follow?

Think about the dog you’re going to get. Think about your lifestyle. Plan on training the dog. And plan on giving the dog adequate amount of exercise. It’s really important to exercise a city dog.

Would you do a little training with Millie? Could you just show–

Sure.

–how you do that?

So one of the most important things I teach a dog who comes to a dog run is to come when called. And Millie– Millie, come. Yeah. Millie’s pretty good at that, except she has a dog on her back right now. Millie, come. Yes. Good girl. And as you can see, Millie does come. She’ll disengage from the dog and come.

I’d like to introduce you to someone who’s very special to Millie. And this is Christa Ackerman and her adorable pug, Ollie. Christa was a high-powered marketer at one time and decided that she wanted to change careers to something she really loved. So she became a professional dog walker in New York City. And in the process of meeting Christa, we also met Ollie, who became Millie’s boyfriend.

Well, actually, Oliver is my first dog. I had two cats for 15 years. And I always wanted a pug. So I finally got my pug about a year and a half ago. And he is just amazing. He’s my best friend.

[BARKING, YIPPING]

He’s my assistant. He comes with me on a lot of my walks. He wants to play.

[LAUGHING]

And Christa spends a lot of time at this dog run. You see other dog walkers here, and then the owners. And really, while the social interactions of the dogs are very interesting and fabulous to watch, the social interactions of all the people are pretty interesting, too.

Yeah, this is true.

It’s really a social life. So that is the Chelsea Riverside Dog Run. I’m glad you–

One of many.

One of many in New York City but, we think, the best. And I want to thank you for coming and joining us today for Millie’s birthday.

Thank you.

[BOTH LAUGHING]

I look forward to hearing your comments and reading your emails and seeing what you think of all of this. Thanks.