Peaches Lukens is dog sitter and walker extraordinaire on the island of Ocean City, New Jersey. She owns and runs Sitting 4 Paws (www.sitting4paws.com) and has a large and dedicated year-round clientele of around 250. “I love spending time with dogs. I’ve always had a dog. They mellow me out and I mellow them out.” Still, that’s a lot of walking and a lot of love.
On any given day at the island’s north end you may see Peaches Lukens walking her own pack, all rescue dogs, the two Chihuahuas, Lily and Chooch, and Theo the Yorkie. Weezie, short for Louisa – a rescue mutt with enough Jack Russell in her to make her too bossy for a group walk – waits at home. Because she tries to Bogart the situation and lead all the others, including Lukens the pack leader, Weezie must wait for a separate amble.
In between her pack walks, Lukens weaves in walks, care, and love for other packs—some 6-20 dog walks and visits a day depending on the needs of her clients.
Lukens was two years old when she had her first dog, a standard brown poodle named Bridget. Bridget was with her until she was sixteen and Lukens confesses that she was her closest friend, the being who heard the deepest secrets of her heart. As a little girl, Lukens put curlers in Bridget’s already curly hair and painted her toenails and invited her to tea.
As an adult, she has become more a practitioner of Cesar Millan-style dog expertise. When she comes upon a tricky dog-sitting situation, say where the dog is anxious over the absence of his owner and pack leader—she’ll often ask herself, “What would Cesar do?”
Before Cesar, “I was anthropomorphizing dogs,” Lukens explains. But as an adult and as someone fully dedicated to working professionally with dogs, she has gone down a different path.
“Cesar teaches to honor the breed. If you get a hunting dog, you’ve got to run it. If you’ve got a terrier, it will want to go out and bark and root and chase squirrels. It needs stimulation, to get out of the back yard.”
As little Lily jumps into her lap and Weezie stares longingly, Lukens elaborates. “Dogs want to know who is the leader of the pack, which is the owner, and they’ll begin to step up and be the leader [if you don’t] and be totally neurotic and confused.” She adds, “Dogs bond with you.” They’re wired for this. “[If] they have no idea where the owner is and freaks out, he will bond with you, the pack, and the leader of the pack.”
And so, she makes sure the little guys understand that she’s the leader. “The first block is a bit chaotic but the next blocks I keep the leader energy and they become relaxed.” They like clarity on who is in charge and prefer if it is the human; that has a great calming effect on dogs.
With each client and each dog, she goes deep. She wants to know everything she can about the breed and about how the person is interacting with the dog. Lukens has learned a lot from every dog she’s ever had.
Dogs are very popular in Ocean City. Many residents have dogs, but there are nuances to the dog culture: “Ocean City is pet friendly residentially, but people are not into having you let your dog on their property.” Lukens cites the numerous signs up on lawns asking dog owners to “curb” their dogs and also is empathetic, explaining that it is a small island with homes built very close to each other. A little dog doo can go a long way to upset residents and passersby. But once a person gets with the program and picks up meticulously after their dog and keeps him or her on a leash, both on sidewalks and on the beach (beaches are open terrain from October through May), the dog friendly aspect comes out in full bloom.
Lukens’ main clients are people who work and need someone to walk and comfort their dogs while they are away for the day. She works with a lot of schoolteachers, for example. In the summer, they tend to need her services less, so Lukens turns her attention to summer residents who have a place at the shore. It’s during those prime summer months, from June to September, that dogs are not allowed on the beaches, which is precisely where her clients are.
Yet here’s the rich idea: Ocean City is actually a stunning off-season getaway and can be a great destination for you and your dog, if you prepare ahead of time.
Lukens’ first advice to visitors who call her for her services is, “Don’t do it for you. Know your dog’s personality and know if he would be a good traveling dog. Make sure he’s friendly.”
Lukens knows all this first hand. Her first travels with dogs were with her golden retriever, Kelly, going cross-country in a VW camper van, and later with Dillon, a large black mutt. Both dogs didn’t take well to the wandering life and would feel deeply anxious if Lukens wasn’t with them 24/7.
But then there is Weezie, the sweet but bossy one, who loves to travel. She is especially attached to Lukens’s husband, Michael, and waits for him to take her places. She is perfectly at home in his work van and on the job. Her territorial comfort is in the form of a person, not a place. If this is your dog, hit the road!
Practical Pointers:
Along with the noted restrictions on dogs in Ocean City—dogs are never allowed on the Boardwalk and allowed on the beach only from October through May, and always on a leash and curbed and picked up after—is the fact that very few accommodations on the island allow dogs, be they hotels or rentals. But Lukens points out a stellar and supremely dog friendly place, Ocean City Mansion, a charming and meticulously run B&B at 416 Central Avenue, which happens to be in the oldest historic district on the island as well, adding to the magic of your getaway. Ocean City Mansion also offers dog-sitting services for lodgers who may want to go somewhere their dog can’t go.
Author: Beebe Bahrami (www.BeebesFeast.com) is a widely published writer and cultural anthropologist who specializes in travel, food and wine, spirituality, outdoors adventures, and cross-cultural writing, particularly on France, Spain, Portugal, and Morocco.
Be sure to read Beebe’s article on the dog-friendly off-season in Ocean Beach, NJ.
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