Want a Friend in Boston? Get a Dog: Thoughts on Community in Dorchester, MA

I was walking my roommate's dog last night, and I was struck once again by how the neighborhood suddenly came alive.

City-dwellers (myself included) are a notoriously unsociable bunch. You could walk around the neighborhood for days without hearing a hello. But bring a dog with you, and suddenly you're not only being greeted by everyone you meet, but you're part of a whole dog-walking subculture. Though people may never ask your name, at least they always learn your dog's. It almost makes the hair and mess worthwhile.

Here's hoping the Ronan Park dog run gets going. (You can sign the petition online to help it along.) That and the Wednesday evening kickball game with people from my church and the Fields Corner, Dorchester neighborhood are the two biggest ways I can see the park becoming a place of community a la Jane Jacobs.