Meet April. April is my 3rd roommate. She belongs to my human roommate (Jamiil), and this month I’m sharing some thoughts about living with a dog in the D:

.April 1

Apartment Searching: At first, when Jamiil and I were apartment shopping I wasn’t sure how I would feel about living with a dog in the city. Not to mention it made the whole search process a bigger pain than normal. At 2 years old, April is mostly a German Shepherd mixed with a hint of Lab/Retriever and weighs 60 lbs (don’t tell her I told you that). Do you know how many apartment buildings in the city allow dogs over 30 lbs? Or dogs considered “aggressive breeds”? Or dogs at all? Not many. Several times we thought we had found the right place then cautiously brought up the dog situation in which we received a straight up “no” or “how big?” question. Thankfully, we found a place downtown managed by some dog lovers that weren’t restrictive to size or breed. For all you bigger breed dog lovers thinking about moving to the city here are a few dog friendly places we looked at downtown:

Lofts at Woodward Center – 1448 Woodward

The Albert – 1214 Griswold

The Kales Building – 76 W Adams Ave

The Fyfe – 10 W Adams Ave

April 2

City Dog Responsibilities: We’ve been here 4 months now and I’ve absolutely loved living in the D with a dog. It’s a bit different than growing up with a fenced in yard where I could let my dog out anytime he wanted. April needs to be walked at least twice a day, her doggie business has to be picked up every time, we have to ensure she get’s enough exercise when out since she lives in a small apartment, and she needs to be crated when we’re not home or sleeping. It’s like taking care of a small child. I can’t complain though because this additional attention a city dog needs has brought me close to my new furry friend faster than I expected.

April 3

The Dog Park: This is her favorite place to go for obvious reasons. She gets to interact with other city dogs here. Most of the time they play nice but sometimes problems occur and you have to watch out. Just like humans, not all dogs get along. The dog park is the best part about city living with a dog. It gives her the opportunity to socialize with other animals on a regular basis which I think is a very healthy thing.  We go to the closest one to us at Grand Circus Park. I can’t imagine what it was like for dog owners downtown before this park because it is always busy. There are at least 2 other dog parks in the city that I know:

Midtown Dog Park – Cass and Canfield

Corktown Dog Park – 17th & Rose 

The dog park has been great for me too because I’ve talked to people I wouldn’t have otherwise met. Fellow dog owners are friendly and always willing to talk about their dogs. Other than about their dogs, I generally ask what they do, what apartment building do they live in and why they moved to the city. So far I’ve met a couple of chefs for the Tigers, a med student at Wayne State, a sous chef at Gold Cash Gold in Corktown, and an elderly couple from Indiana visiting their son who lives downtown. It’s nice to have an adorable, well behaved dog in the city. Even on the street while walking people will stop and ask about her.

April 4

At the end of the day, I can usually find April curled up in the corner tired from the days activities. Don’t let that fool you though, she’s always up for playing as soon as you grab one of her toys.  We have just enough space in our place for her to run around a little bit.

I can’t wait to live out the rest of the year with my furry roommate and create more memories with our city dog.