It's a dog's life

Five days in, I decided to unleash Baldy on Prague.

Here, he is sitting in an area of Mala Strana (or "Little Quarter"), a beautiful, quaint, tourist-filled area of Prague nestled against the Vltava River and near the Charles Bridge. As I've alluded to before, Prague is extremely dog-friendly. Dogs can ride on the buses (toward the back), on trams and on the subway. They can even enter pubs and restaurants. The general rule seems to be: Unless there is a specific sign that says dogs are forbidden, then dogs are welcome.

The caveat is that dogs must wear a muzzle if they are riding on public transport. So today, I bought the little Napoleon a muzzle and decided that this wonderful sunny day could not be wasted. We walked 20 minutes to the subway station near my apartment, and that's when the adjustment period started. Baldy had a hard time as well. After I put the muzzle on, Baldy used his front right paw to unceremoniously remove it. That's when I realized I should probably put it on correctly. By the end of the day he didn't fight having the muzzle on, although I compromised by removing it while we transferred from one line to the next.

The other trial was getting Baldy to ride on the escalators. He wanted no part of them at first, so I built up his confidence in stages. First, I just held him like a baby over my shoulder the first two times. Then I lifted him onto the escalator and placed him on one stair, where he stayed. Before long, I'd wait until everyone passed us, then I gently prodded him by pulling him onto the escalator. Soon he was getting on the escalator himself -- and wanting to walk up. By the end of the day he was a wily veteran.

The biggest difference between bringing Baldy around here and in South Korea was that he was not a big deal. Koreans children, for example, had two reactions whenever they saw him; one was to run for the hills, the other was to circle around him as if he was the first dog anyone had ever seen. In Prague, people smiled at him, or asked if their child could pet him, or just went along with their business. The one exception was a very nice couple from Italy who caressed him, showered him with praise, and then fell to the ground holding their ankles in hopes that the referee would call a penalty.

After walking through Mala Strana's cobblestone streets, which were lined with brightly colored buildings, we spent at least an hour at Kampa, an island next to the Vltava where people played musical instruments, juggled, ate, and relaxed with family and friends. The park also had the best pooper-scooper bags ever:

And that's how Baldy spent his first day out and about in Prague. He seemed to think he got enough exercise.