by Maggie Kaiser and Louis Epstein

Summer in Somerville is a great time to have a dog. When the weather is fine and the days long, there is nothing better than chilling out with some sunscreen, ice cream, and our dog, Panda.

We rescued Panda two years ago through an organization we found on Petfinder and shortly after we brought her home realized (while picking up the pieces of the chewed front door) that she didn’t like being left alone. Thankfully, through training classes at City Dog Training and behavioral consultations with Gordon at Zen Dog Training we managed to get her separation anxiety under control.

The 8-hour flight back from Paris two months ago set off Panda’s separation anxiety again and this time we turned to a new Somerville business, RiverDog, to keep her happy and exhausted when we can’t be home. This fabulous doggie daycare/groomer/pet supply store in Union Square is under new ownership and we couldn’t be happier to leave Panda in the care of Peter and Priscilla.

RiverDog is conveniently located near Nunziato Field, one of Somerville’s two existing off-leash recreation areas (dogparks). These parks were created by the city due in part to lots of hard work by the Somerville Dog Owners Group (som|dog). We are very excited to someday soon visit a third park, currently under construction in East Somerville, at 0 New Washington Street. If you are interested in getting more off-leash parks in Somerville, get involved with som|dog, and talk to your alderman!

For us and for Panda, dog-loving businesses, friendly neighbors, and space to run make Somerville a truly dog-friendly city.

Panda enjoys relaxing in Davis Square