Now… get packing.

Don’t forget to pack my crate, my toys, my food, my bed, my brushing equipment, my treats, my toothbrush and peanut butter flavored toothpaste, my …..

Living the Good Life

Squeak balls + beach = fun

OMGSQUEAKBALL MUST POUNCE!!

I find it very cute how he “plays” with the ball all by himself. He actually rolls it away with his nose and then will pounce on it!

We enjoyed ze sunshine! In fact… I even got a *teensy* bit of a burn, which faded into a nice tan today.

Came home yesterday after work and then the gym to find this note:

How spoiled are we? TWO WALKS? A FOUR HOUR HANG AROUND AT HER HOUSE? Plus she hangs out and plays with our cat? !!!

Linus has a very plush life. He’s with me most of the time, however the two or three days a week I go to work, he gets the royal treatment from Robin.

Our dogwalker, Robin, is the greatest. She’s such a caring and loving woman to the pets. She works with my oddball schedule that changes all the time and is extremely reliable. Linus ADORES her and they have so much fun together. A lot of the time she brings him back completely covered in mud or sand, because they play in the dirt pit at the dog park. But we don’t mind because we know he had so much fun.

If anyone’s looking for a dog walker in the Haight Ashbury area, Robin has our highest recommendations. We’ve been using her for a year now and she is stupendous. If you would like her contact info, please contact me here and I will be happy to send it to you! She doesn’t really advertise and most of her clients are found via word of mouth.

Woke up this morning to the following email blast from my SF Corgi listserve:

Some of you may have seen the news about an early morning fire at the
Berkeley Humane Society shelter. They fire destroyed a significant
portion of their facility including their cat shelter and all of their
offices.

They are heartbroken to have lost a number of cats during the fire,
but about a dozen cats and all of the dogs were saved.

They are in need of emergency assistance both in the form of
individuals who can temporarily foster animals, as well as immediate
financial donations. Once the situation is further stabilized they
will need volunteers for cleanup and recovery.

As their offices were destroyed and their utilities cut, their phones
are out and they are coordinating all efforts from their website.

www.berkeleyhumane.org

Thank you!

So sad! Heartwrenching to think of the cats that perished in the fire

I just emailed them to help volunteer with the cleanup and we may also temporarily foster (if they have a dog or cat who would get along with another dog and cat!). Perhaps you would like to help out as well? They are looking for people to help clean, temporarily foster animals and also monetary donations. I’m sure spreading the news of their situation on your website, twitter or facebook would help too. Find out more updates and how you can help here on their website: www.berkeleyhumane.org

Here is hoping they get back on their feet quickly and back to helping animals in need!

…. dogs so funny lookin when they pose upside down?

I reckon it’s the goofy expression:

Tried on cats. Doesn’t work.

(also, based on my sample size of one, cats seem far less inclined to pose upside down and must be bribed with chin scratches).

The sadness in the eyes of this beat-up little guy on the corgi listserve made me tear up:

Apparently Jared was involved in some sort of dog fight.

Here is the text from his bio:

Poor Jared was a puppymill production line worker. Apparently the
mill he came from was one of the worst. It was raided, Jared was
seized, and he landed in the shelter with some serious injuries.

Jared, who probably had no name at all in the mill but was given his
name at the shelter, will need surgery to repair his nose and his
eye, and I suspect they’ll need to work on his ear, too.

In addition, he has come down with kennel cough.

You can read more about Jared, and find out how to donate to help him and other corgis in need here:
Jared’s CorgiAid Page

Corgi Aid is a truly phenomenal organization. They helped Linus with some of the massive dental surgery he needed before we adopted him. For those of you interested, you can see Linus’ Petfinder Rescue Page here:

I was browsing Petfinder one evening as Earl and I lay in bed, and of course was searching corgis. I saw Auggie (now Linus) and said out loud to Earl, “he’s our guy!” I filled out the adoption application on the spot that night, rounded up our references, and after we were approved to adopt him we drove down to West Virginia from NYC to get him that very weekend. If you’re interested in the day we went and adopted Linus, you can read about it here:
The Day We Got Linus

Here is hoping Jared heals up quickly and is able to find a home with heaps of love.

A few from Lake Tahoe.

Linus by the lake:

We were done with skiing for the day and checking out Tahoe City. It was cool how you could run around by the water!

Check out Earl’s beard:

Someone was a Good Boy and got a “cookie” at the upscale pet shop in Truckee (he also got a new dog bed!)

There was some drool happening

Finally!!

We skied with our friend Dom for a few days at Squaw (myself in yellow, Andrea in the middle and Dom in red)

Dom splits his time between Truckee and SF, and knows Squaw really well. He led us down this pretty scary slope called “The Attic.” Being… not on my best ski game this year, I was just happy I made it down!

Near the top of Granite Chief, our friends Andrea and Mattius who live down the street from us near UCSF. Mattius was REALLY FAST on his snowboard. We played Chinese downhill to high camp and he creamed everyone by about … 20 seconds! His strategy was to go straight and not turn. They must breed ‘em fast in the Alps. Then again, this is the same guy who got ticketed for speeding on the autobahn, so…

And finally, here is Linus running in the snow just south of Carson Pass. We were stopped by CalTrans waiting for the pass to open that morning, so decided to have a romp!

Oh, and just so she doesn’t feel left out, here’s a little video I shot of Lucy chilling in her box:

Curled up with a dog, a cat and a good book.

Not to mention unending boxes of tissues.

As Sam noted, it’s freeeEEzing here in San Francisco! You know when the arch enemies band together for warmth, things are pretty chilly in the apartment.

I don’t think our apartment is built for weather under 50*. I actually made a fire in the fireplace tonight all by myself while Earl was still at work (normally we only make a fire if we’re going to lounge around in front of it and have a romantic evening) just to warm up the joint. Even broke out the down comforter.

Supposed to be doing a hike tomorrow afternoon up Mt. Sutro with my friend Andrea (and Linus). Then my to do list has pre-making some pie crusts for Christmas, organizing the grocery shopping list for Feastivus (eight people have already RSVPd!!), writing Christmas cards, and catching up on friend’s blogs. With the chill in the air, we better dress warmly for our hike! Perhaps I will pack a thermos of hot cider. Brrr.

Love these shots of Linus playing fetch on Tank Hill!

Earl and I headed over there a few weekends ago on a gorgeous, sunny fall day. Tank Hill is a stone’s throw from our apartment; it’s a shame we’d never explored it. I plan to mosey over with a corgi, a coffee and a newspaper again soon.

Tank Hill would have been a stupendous place to have watched tonight’s meteor shower, however we are both totally EXHAUSTED and can barely muster the energy to look out the window for meteors, let alone schlep a blanket and some wine up a big hill.

I start new job on Friday!! WHOOO. Been busy these past couple days getting my uniform(s) fitted, uniform voucher, MORE blood work done (ugh) and filling out W-4s. Everything is coming together.