Then, bounding out of the bushes, came a big German shepherd, bigger than Jake. We exchanged information; their dog was 2, mine is 5. They got their dog as a puppy from a friend; mine is a rescue from Grateful Dog Rescue. Jake and Diego (the other German Shepherd) checked each other out and played a little. Then Diego barked and “talked” excitedly. The couple said he only usually did that when he wanted food. We were all delighted as he did that a few more times and then sidled up right next to the male owner.

The man told Diego to get the toy which he had dropped much further back on the trail. Diego, being a brilliant German Shepherd, didn’t have to be told twice and he dutifully brought the toy. We exchanged “It was nice talking to you” and continued on our way.

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.

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.

This is the first dog picture I remember taking. The event – a sandcastle building contest at Ocean Beach in San Francisco. The weather was chilly but spirits were high. Amazing sandcastles were built that day and dogs were to lend their support…

This is the second time I’ve done it-taken a “look like she’s lost” dog home from Albany Bulb and then returned it to the owner. In retrospect, I overreacted and handled the “rescues” too hastily.

Both rescue efforts had a similar storyline-I saw a small dog looking lost, wandering down the path that runs adjacent to the parking lot. I waited to hear someone call for the dog. I looked around, too, to see if anyone looked like they were looking for a lost dog. In both cases, I asked passerbys if they saw anyone looking or calling for a dog and the people I asked said no.

I approached the dog to see if they had a tag, put a leash on them and carried them to my car since I don’t own a cell phone and had to go home and call the owner. The first time, I came back to Albany Bulb and returned the dog to the owner there. The second time, the person came to my house and picked up her dog.

In retrospect, I should have just waited on the path once I had the dog on the leash. Although each person thanked me for returning their dog, I could sense that they were slightly freaked out that I had taken their dog home. So, while I don’t plan to give up “rescuing” “lost” dogs, I do plan on more of a wait and see approach in the future.

I had planned to take pictures of both dogs. But it seemed exploitative. The picture above is a scan of the tag of the second dog. I scanned it because the phone number was too hard to read otherwise. I removed the name and phone number to protect the dog and the owner’s identity.