A West Village Dog’s Greatest Hits

By Rocky the Dog, age 4 (in human years)

My name is Rocky and I live in the West Village. I pull my leash considerably harder than my 12 lbs. of body weight might suggest I could. Mostly, I’m drawn to a few human friends who work in local businesses, the tennis balls and treats they offer, any old slice of pizza on the ground and all our local dog parks. If I were to make a mixtape (or a “playlist”) with the greatest neighborhood hits, it would look like this:

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Side A

Sea Grape Wine Shop (512 Hudson St.) – Friends who work here share the best treats. I never walk by without stopping in. One time, they opened the gate and slipped me a treat after hours. They call me “Rocky Horror.” My human grammy likes the wine here too — and they deliver.

My Sister – Sadelle and I share birth parents, a birthday, a neighborhood, a groomer, and a mutual dislike for having our legs touched. We bump into each other occasionally and have made plans to meet up. We may have another sibling in the neighborhood. We’ve been searching.

Wooftown (91 Christopher St.) – Staff here nicknamed me “Mr. Hops” because I jump incredibly high when I spot the treats. On the rare occasion they give me something I don’t like (I’m fussy), I spit it out on their floor and they offer me a different treat. The people who work here are total pros. They give my human family tips about everything and anything dog-related. And we leave with armfuls of my favorite minnow treats and tennis balls.

Tennis Balls – I love balls. If it rolls, I run after it. I just can’t get enough of them. My humans always carry extras to avoid any drama at the dog parks. One Village View founder nicknamed me “King of the Balls.” We get them at Wooftown, New Golden Greetings (464 Hudson St.), Garber Hardware (710 Greenwich St.), and Zoomies (434 Hudson St.).

Doris Diether – The legendary Doris passed away before I arrived on the scene. But the humans always talk about her. I understand she loved animals, Washington Square Park, and cheese, just like me.

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Side B

My Human Brother – We fight like brothers and love like brothers. He hides my tennis balls, and I lose my mind with excitement. I know when he’s approaching home two-three minutes before anyone else and I rush to the front door to wait.

Dog Parks – The Hudson River Dog Parks at Leroy Street and Gansevoort Peninsula are terrific. I adore the little dog run at Washington Square Park. These days, we head to Gansevoort so we can watch the sunsets over the Hudson and to listen to the music coming out of Little Island.

Willie – Willie is our human neighbor and we roughhouse. We are pretend-aggressive together. It’s our little game and I always seem to win because he rewards me with a treat after. Willie introduced me to Love, another fantastic neighborhood dog.

Ranger the Dog – Ranger is my best bud. We are opposite in almost every way. He’s tall. I’m short. He’s narrow. I’m wide. He has straight hair. I have curly hair. He’s timid. I’m bold. His ears smell amazing. Maybe mine do too. Also, even though he’s scared, Ranger would lay down his life for me and our favorite humans.

Cheese – I might consider laying down my life for cheese. The vets at Small Door (15 7th Ave.) don’t recommend it and so my humans save it for special situations, like when I refuse to leave Ranger’s home or the dog park. If I lived by a motto, it might be “Cheese not fleas.”

Bonus Tracks – Cowgirl (519 Hudson St.), Zoomies jackets (Sadelle and I sport matching ones), a new-to-the-neighborhood white poodle mix named “Sunday,” and the smiley, dog-loving bouncers at EO (510 Hudson St.).

I don’t have social media. I’m old-school. Follow my sister, Sadelle_Shihpoo, on Instagram for more photos from our neighborhood.