In July, I adopted a new dog named Jake.
I meet a lot of dogs. I see I go to the dog park every day and see the regulars. Like most regulars, I know the dogs’ names but often not the owners. When I’m just walking around, at a minimum, I smile at every dog I see. It’s a natural response. But if there’s time and the situation is right, I try to find out the dog’s name, to pet it, call it “sweetie”, and usually the owner will tell me a story.
“He was a stray and I tried to find a home for him. But I ended up keeping him. Now it’s 9 years later and I can’t imagine my life without him.”
“My neighbor kept this dog tied up all day. I couldn’t bear it. When I asked about it, it turned out that the boyfriend didn’t want a dog around. So I adopted her.”
Just this morning when I was walking my dogs at the dog park, I saw a woman with a dog who looked exactly like Sasha, my dear dog who died in Sept. The dog’s name was Rudy. He was a stray and his owner found him on a freeway in LA.
In my own case, I adopted 2 senior dogs, brothers, from a shelter 2 years ago. Their owner, who had them both for 10 years, surrendered them. Great dogs.
The dog in the picture is Bear. He’s a dog I met in San Rafael, CA. Bear was left homeless after a flood in Ross. His owner gave him daily walked and love ensued. The man (notice that I didn’t catch his name) proclaimed great affection for Bear and couldn’t imagine life without him.
Every dog has a history. Over the years, I’ve heard countless stories of abandonment and abuse, adoption and love.
leaving animal planet on during the day for your dog? you might want to rethink that practice
Published April 3, 2008 dogs Leave a CommentYou may have thought that you were doing your dog a favor by leaving on the radio, “Animal Planet” or music during the day while you were gone. Although I’ve never done it, I could see why people would think that ever-present sound would provide their pet with some company.
But then I heard an interview with Joshua Leeds, co-author of Through a Dog’s Ear. He said imagine what it would be like if you were left alone in a room with the TV on and you couldn’t change the station or the sound level. Add to that the fact that the sounds from the TV or radio may be sounds that your dog doesn’t have a reference to and can’t process and you may find that you’re not doing your dog a favor after all.
However, Leeds says that his research shows that there is music that seems to be universally soothing and (of course) he has a CD to sell with that music on it. There’s plenty of research and sound samples on his web site to try out if you’re skeptical.
More on dogs and sound-If your dog pants loud and long, it could be laughing and this sound has a soothing effect on other dogs. Read more in Sound of Dog’s ‘Laugh’ Soothes Other Pooches. You don’t have to convince me. When one of my dogs pants, I am immediately soothed and calmed.
Last time I was at the San Francisco airport waiting for a delayed flight, all anxious and annoyed, I met this rescue dog. He was being flown along with his trainers to his first mission. Upon seeing this excited pup, petting him and talking to his owners about what a fine dog he was, I was immediately calmed.
Wouldn’t it be great if there were dog petting stations at airports?
I used to have this banner on my blog. For the longest time, I couldn’t come back here and post. It was just too painful. Maggie, on the left, was a dog I had lost when I started the blog and so I posted the picture in memory of her. Sasha, the dog on the right was still happily with me then.
Then, last September, 2007, I lost Sasha, too. That loss was especially painful. Now it’s April 2008 and it has taken me this amount of time to come back here and look at this picture and acknowledge the joy I had spending time in the company of these 2 beautiful beings. I miss both of them so, so much and every day… Since then, I’ve adopted 2 other dogs, Calvin and Ralph. It’s good, I love them both but it’s not quite the same. If you’re a dog owner, you know how the intensity of the connection can vary.
This picture was taken at Pt. Isabel, a dog park I’ve visited thousands of times. Yes, really. I’ve lived in this house since 1994 and have gone at least once a day since then. It’s a magnificent dog park, 23-31 acres (accounts vary) of open land, a perfect place for dogs to swim and run, unencumbered by a leash. It also has unobstructed views of the San Francisco skyline and the Golden Gate and Bay bridges. There’s Mt. Tamalpais out in the distance.
Calvin, one of my dogs, is here in this picture. That’s him, the yellowish figure with the black nose, standing on the chair, looking out the window and waiting for me when I come home.
Every year, the Berkeley Humane Society hosts a fundraiser called Bay-to-Barkers and it’s held at the Berkeley Marina. It was a gorgeous day that day with kites in flight in the background and dogs and their owners enjoying each others company.
I saw this dog at Pt. Isabel and took his picture. That’s about all I can say. He looked confident, strong and happy and had the biggest tongue of any dog I’ve ever seen.
Most kids get wide-eyed and excited when they see a dog. Usually they will fearlessly go up to one and pet it or if older, ask first if it’s OK. Sometimes kids are scared of dogs or parents bring their kids to the dog park and shield them from dogs other than their own. That’s probably a good practice. You never know, I guess.
But I like to see parents and kids interacting with the other dogs. If handled right, kids get to meet a new dog, under safe conditions. In this picture, the owners are carefully monitoring the situation, holding the leash, as the mother initiates the contact, petting the dog and making sure all is safe. See the child smiling? A positive experience all around.
Chubby was a dog who used to sit in a chair in front of the shoe repair place on Colusa in Kensington, CA near where I live. Chubby was the store owner’s dog and he was a very popular photographic subject. See the pictures frames in the window? Each one contains a picture of Chubby, submitted by his admirers. I gave the owner a framed picture, too. A closeup shot of Chubby. Awhile back, the shoe repair store closed temporarily. It’s open again but I never see Chubby in the chair any more.
