Relaxing oasis in Alexandria
After living in a townhome in Old Town for 20 years with no yard or outdoor space, I decided to buy a new house. My dogs only exercise was walking on a leash or finding empty dog parks at strange hours. Although my dogs were well-behaved, I observed a lot of negative behavior from pets and owners in city dog parks and wasn’t comfortable letting my dogs mingle there.
When I bought this house a couple years ago, I knew I wanted to create an oasis for my pets. My landscape architect clearcut 75 feet back into the woods, installed retaining walls to help level the steep slope on the side yard and planted lots of grass to create the perfect backyard. The property is on almost an acre, so the back of the fence is very private with a wooded area. Occasionally, you can see deer on their way to the creek and hear fox behind the fence, although that is usually after 11pm. There is a lot of privacy and nature to enjoy from the patio.The yard is bright and sunny in the morning and shady after 2 or so.
Since my yard brings so much joy to my dogs, when my friend told me about Sniffspot, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to share this dog friendly space with the community. There is always ample street parking right in front of my house. 
The 6 foot fence is reinforced with chicken wire to keep small dogs in and other animals out. The gentle slope is perfect for fetch to wear out high energy dogs faster. Lots of areas to sniff and explore. The entire yard is dog friendly with no pesticides or toxic plants. Water hose, dog bowl, toys, dog bags and trash can are provided. This yard was created for my dogs so all furniture is pet friendly and the dogs go wherever they want. I do try to keep them out of the fenced part of the garden (where the tacky yard art lives 😂) due to beer traps for the slugs but I don’t freak out when they jump the mini-fence. I don’t want any guest to feel any stress while visiting. Dogs will be dogs and normal dog behavior is expected.
There is a fan next to the gazebo for warm days. The fan is plugged into a multi-outlet extension cord and you’re welcome to use both! If you’re into grounding, I never wear shoes when I’m in my yard.
The yard is probably more than a quarter of an acre. The land that goes with my house is 1 acre. However, I don’t know how to measure the inside fence and I’d rather under promise and overdeliver.
The entrance from the street is double gated, like a dog park, to prevent accidental escapes. Enjoy the gazebo and patio with dog beds for relaxing and shade. Surrounded by trees, the birds and fountain offer the perfect oasis to get away from high stress city living. Wednesday late mornings and early afternoons are blocked off for my lawn mowing company. Monday mornings, my dog poop pickup company services my yard. On Mondays, they usually come in the morning, but I don’t have a specific time. If you have a people aggressive dog, you may want to avoid this time since I don’t know when they will actually show up. I do pick up daily but have the service for anything missed as it’s a large yard with 3 dogs to track.
If interested in hosting a party, I am open to a group of people and more dogs than the limit states. Send a chat to discuss details.
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