Dog Days: Finding a Karmic Outlet in New York City Dog Runs

Finding respite in the familiar is a common tactic for navigating the existential problem posed by life in any major metropolitan landscape. In a city with the schizophrenic density of New York, one need not look far for a karmic outlet. The bar you most frequent specializes in the brand of hooch and spins the genre of music that best contextualizes your life. The lighting design at your regular café seems to reflect the ember of your soul. You seek the places better stocked with soul mates than sitting space.

Which is why New York City dog runs are the most interesting sites of social interaction in all of Gotham.

For suburbanites unfamiliar with this civic necessity, a dog run is a gated areas where dogs can run free, usually located in a city park. The strength of the New York City dog run subculture is proof that the commitment New Yorkers invest in new staples of their urban existence is uncommonly fierce, possessed of the vigor capable of erecting overnight institutions. Though dog runs are relatively new to New York City, they seem as entrenched in Gotham's lifeblood as scarce real estate and overtaxed cigarettes.

Which is not to say that New Yorkers are turning out in droves to volunteer at their local dog run, afterwards sipping hot cider in celebration of a hard day's work. Commitment to a place in New York City is more hardheaded and atomized-an attempt to configure one's surroundings to one's liking by sheer force of will. Perhaps this behavior is engendered by the collective experience of commuting by means of the world's most efficient sardine tin (the New York City subway), but in any venue within Gotham where the ambiance doesn't come prepackaged, it's fought for and won. Who can sigh with deeper exasperation, dish out the dirtier look?