entranceway | 05 | Video: let's build a dog park

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05 | Video: let's build a dog park

[Maggie's comfortably perched on her couch, hair braided, no makeup, and wearing jeans and a flannel shirt. Dressed for activity, not for looks.]

Hello, Wonderland!

I was hoping to recruit some help for a project. I realized while looking after a friend's dog recently that we don't have a good area to let dogs off-leash if their recall isn't fantastic. I'd like to design and build a dog park here. Ideally two separate fenced areas, in case some pets don't play well with others, double gated and considerably more interesting than plain empty fields.

The thing is, although I've trained and rescued dogs, I haven't worked construction. I could use a hand with manual labor. We don't have currency in Wonderland, but if you aren't moved to volunteer out of the goodness of your heart, I'll see what I can come up with for a barter economy. Options include home-cooked meals, dog training, and fiction or poetry on topics of your choice, for starters.

Give me a call or stop by room 69 on the 9th floor this afternoon if you're interested, darlings!

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Hi, Barbie here. I am more than willing to offer my time and abilities to a dog park since I just became a dog owner.

Former military, done construction, willing to get dirty and work long hours. That's my entire resume.

I'm Maggie. It's a pleasure to meet you, Barbie, and that sounds like a perfect resume for this job. Much better than mine, at least for the actual work.

I understand dogs and can manage landscape design, but 'online journalist' doesn't really denote the same physical strength or competence with power tools. At least, not when my brand of writing tends more toward fiction and poetry than action news.

Fair enough, so not a worry. Do you have plans in mind? Like type of fencing, features, location?

I'm willing to sketch up some things otherwise.]

[Nope, it's not that he's anxious to something to do or anything. Nope.]

...I'm so used to choosing fences for a post-zombie world. My yard at home is practically a fortress. Here, chain link would be fine, but some dogs are smart enough to shimmy out under that. I'd like to stake down each section in between the posts, and it should be tall enough to keep large dogs from vaulting over it.

Dogs are inevitably going to drink whatever water feature they have access to, so if we add one, we should install something that's flowing rather than a still pool. Varied terrain is good, like small hills and boulders to climb as opposed to all flat ground, and maybe some trees or shrubs. If we're feeling particularly ambitious, tunnels and other agility structures would be nice.

Do you want to do chainlink entirely then, or sink wood on the lower half and then chainlink higher?

Either would work, and I can get the supplies from the closet for either. And quick concrete as well so we can ensure inability to dig beneath.

What about a multi level fountain. Kind of like the decorative ones, but copper for germs and such, and then different size dogs can drink from one device? Would that work?

So like a playground, truly, but with four legs in mind?

I'll leave the fence decision at your discretion.

That fountain is a charming idea.

Yeah. A fenced in field is better than nothing by a long shot, but having a large, varied space gives dogs a little more room to adjust to each other if they're not used to interacting, and some environmental stimulation is nice for keeping them from getting bored. Bored dogs tend to wreak havoc, so it's nice for them to get their energy out, mental as well as physical.

A couple benches for humans might be appreciated, too. [But let's be honest, she's mostly thinking about the dogs.]

Okay. I'll come up with some ideas from the closet and we can go over them. Do you have a space sketched out? Like sizewise?

Okay. I can run a few things down. If you want. I mean, I just realized I'm already trying to head this project and it's yours not mine.

Not yet. Want to meet me outside the mansion and consider options?

And don't be silly. With that attitude, I might have to appoint you construction foreman. Thanks for jumping in, Barbie.

I'd love to. Let me grab some supplies from the closet, but I shouldn't be too long.

No, thank you. I hadn't realized until I started thinking about this how much I miss having projects to work on. Just glad this one comes from happiness and not just keeping people alive.

You're right. It's nice when something isn't just about survival. And I've been itching for a project to work on here.

See you soon.

69, lol

Shawn. You know what I do for a living. Don't you think that makes my room number appropriately inappropriate?

Do I get to interpret this response as you volunteering to be put to work, or are you just here for the jokes?

[ The guy who built an entire freaking floating bar groans, but since it's text at least she can't hear that. It's not like he can say no because...see the bar example. ]

I mean, I came for the jokes (there's another one) but I guess I can help. Put up a...fence or something? I've never been to a dog park.

Thanks, Shawn. I'll bake you something.

Barbie and I are discussing the best type of fence, I'd like a few benches for people, and then I'll probably try a little bit of landscaping just to make the space more interesting.

[ Just reading that makes his eyes glaze over, but dammit she's his friend so he's going to need to make his brain focus, here. ]

What about those uh, little tubes on the ground for dogs to run through? That's a thing, right?

[He's entirely amused, and it's plain as day on his face.]

I suppose we all need our pet projects around here.

Are you just here to make bad jokes, or are you going to lend your considerable strength and speed to this particular project? [With a flirtatious smile and lilt to her voice, because Maggie flirts as easily as breathing sometimes.]

Mostly the first one, I'll admit. [He smirks.] But I suppose I could lend a hand if you really need it.

I've mostly ever built stuff to keep people or walkers out, but I can lend a hand if someone else knows what they're doing. ( Clementine knows how to use tools. She can take direction, and she can work hard. It would be good to get her hands dirty. )

I... used to be really freaked out by dogs, but I started to get to know one dog recently and that helped. ( The idea of running into a dog that's not Rosie makes her tense up still. It's hard for her to get over that terrible moment with the other dog when she was eleven, the one that left the scar on her arm. ) So maybe I'd like a dog someday so I could keep that... going, and it'd be nice for there to be a dog park if that happens.

Edited 2018-11-07 01:51 (UTC)

Thanks, Clementine. Keeping dogs in started out as a side effect at first back home. I was lucky. My yard had multiple walls and five gates. A good thing, considering my parents' money made me as much a target for the living as the dead, and I also lived in the middle of the woods. I couldn't have zombie deer or bears getting into my garden.

Dogs can be scary. A lot of people in my world are afraid of them, especially bigger ones. If you ever decide you want to try, I'll work with you to train your dog. You don't have to manage it on your own.

Damn. So you nearly had a fortress. That's good if so many people and walkers- zombies were after you. So you had dogs as company?

( Clementine knows a thing or two about being lonely, isolated. She's not sure if that's what it was like for Maggie. She did at least have dogs, which is good. She's seen how Rosie can be a good companion, but even with AJ at Clementine's side, it was... nice to finally find the boarding school.

To not be so alone. )

I had a- I had a bad experience with one once. It... wasn't really the dog's fault. He was starving. ( And so was she. It just- It all turned into a mess. ) Recently, I've had a better experience with one, but I would like to try. I'd like your help when I do.

Yeah. My grandmother's old farmhouse converted into what might as well be a fortress. I hate an empty house. The dogs fill it up between visitors; a lot of writers from After the End Times have open invitations. That applies here too, if you ever want some extra company. I'm done living alone, though. When I go back home, my boyfriend Alaric and his younger sister will be coming to live with me. Georgia says I'll be married and pregnant a few years down the line.

Dogs are like people that way. When they get desperate, sometimes they do things that they'd never consider if they had their needs met. Unlike people, of course, they don't necessarily know better. We should find you a calm, gentle dog, and make sure you're comfortable.

Wow, sounds like you've got a lot ahead, waiting for you back home. Glad you don't have to live alone anymore, and you get to have all of that good stuff. I spent awhile on my own, and- ( it's not as good as having someone to rely on, someone to talk to. it's easy to lose sight of one's humanity when completely alone. )

They don't. I don't hold it against the dog at least I don't think the dog was in the wrong, and I'm sorry for- for how it all shook out. Just- ( emotions are harder, and there's a fear reaction that's near instinctive with new gods. ) Okay. Rosie was actually pretty tough, but gentle and sweet with those she trusted. I think I just need to remember that most dogs aren't going to be in that desperate spot like the last one, like most of the dogs in my world.

People aren't meant to be alone. I think that connection and caring are the best parts of ourselves, and I hope that you always have that. [Clementine, of all people, deserves it.]

You need to keep yourself safe. If you had to choose between the dog's life and yours, I don't blame you if you chose yours. But you're right. Things aren't desperate here, and I'd like to make sure that any animals brought into Wonderland are well cared for so they never wind up desperate.

One of my favorite dogs I've ever met was a giant mastiff that belonged to a mad scientist. He was enormous, and he could be vicious if anyone threatened his owner. But he was a very good dog.

Thank you.

( Clementine is quiet but genuine. She was alone for so long, and she doesn't ever want to go back to living like that. ) It was biting me, and I threw... it off, and it landed on some spikes. ( She swallows thickly, glancing downward. ) ...it was in pain, and so I-

( She put it out of its misery, but then everyone thought that bite was a walker bite, and she nearly died because of it. She lets out a shaky breath, swallowing, moving forward. )

Sounds like a really good dog. You think if I reach into a closet then it'll give me the dog just meant for me?

[This certainly peaked his interest, considering he had just adopted a dog not too long ago himself.]

That would be nice. I'm not sure how I would be able to help, but let me know if there's anything I can do.

[Also... please help him with figuring out how to own a dog.]

There's probably something. Do you have any relevant skills, or are you offering an extra set of hands?

Mmmm... Well, I'm not really sure how to take car of a dog just yet [But he's looking into it to be a good pet owner] but I could probably help with setting it up at least.

I kinda feel like after that last event, I might owe you some free help.

Let she who has never gotten drunk and done anything stupid cast the first stone. And hey, you even get to blame Wonderland for it this time around.

But I won't turn down the help. I'll even cook you something to thank you for it, if you let me know your favorites.

It's not much of a way of paying you back if you make me food, though.

...But I do really like food.

[Stupid ethics!!!!]

Well, I really like cooking. And company. So it isn't as if that would be an imposition, Eleanor.

I...don't really know anything about construction, but if you need another pair of hands, I can come help?

...Also, I promise I'm back to normal now. Sorry about the, um. Weird...pumpkin cult thing.

Sure, Wirt. I could use an extra pair of hands, and I like having you around.

As weird pumpkin cults go, yours could have been worse. It's good to see your real face instead of a jack o' lantern's.

Yeah, I guess it could have been. ...Thanks, Maggie.

I seriously can't imagine any version of myself living like that though. Plus even without the creepy parts I still smelled like pumpkin for like, days afterwards!

Um... I'd like to help.

[He doesn't own a dog, but you know what? Being involved in something might actually be nice. He could do with a good dose of community after an event nearly had him eating people.

It would have proved a certain someone right, in a way, and he doesn't want to go down that road.]

Don't need anything for it.

Thank you. I'd appreciate that. Let me know if there's anything you'd like, even if you don't particularly need things.

[R hesitates. It isn't often that he has to think of things that he wants just for himself.]

I think... just the company would be nice.

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05 | Video: let's build a dog park

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