Dog Park

The number one thing I'm going to miss about my neighborhood when I eventually leave will be the makeshift dog park my neighbors and I have created out of the tennis courts in the park. Eastlake Terrace is an extremely dog-friendly street. I'd say at least half of the residents on the street own one or more dogs. Naturally, everyone tends to walk their dogs in the park next to the lake, which is conviently located right across the street from my building. There are old run-down tennis courts in this park that are rarely used for playing tennis. Instead, three times a day, dogs and their people can be found socializing in the tennis courts. This has been happening for as long as I've been here (four years now), and while there may be a war between the four or five tennis players in the area and the dozens of dog-owners as to who should have rights to the courts, I have to say that I've met some of my closest friends through this medium. Jenny, Jessie, and Ruta are all tennis court pals, and there have been many others that have come and gone as well. The dogs love it as it gives them a chance to run around with each other off-leash, and the humans enjoy being outside and chit chatting with other dog-owners. I've counted upwards of 22 dogs in the tennis courts at one time, but even when the weather is at it's Chicago worst, you can still always see at least one or two dogs and owners out there every evening around 6pm. Occasionally the police will get a bee in their bonnet that they should start ticketing people for having their dogs off-leash in an area that's not an official City of Chicago dog park, but it never lasts for long. The residents of Eastlake Terrace continue to prevail with their makeshift dog park and it's one of the things that makes Rogers Park worth living in. We may not have lots of boutiques, restaurants, or nightlife within walking distance, but we've got a strong Midwestern community of neighbors and personally, I think that's even better.