Gesso our Shelter Star

Long term resident & social playtime guru, Gesso, left BACS on 6/8/08 to start a new life on the outside as Starbuck! Hooray!!!! Gesso (AKA Starbuck) had been at the shelter since 11/11/07. We fare thee well m'love...enjoy your much deserved home sweet home, you've waited a very long time!

May I help you? (Puzzle's trying to share the love...)

You look like you need some kisses!

Below you'll see that Puzzle was trying to woo shelter dog Faye with his best moves and adoration (note the tail wagging)

...unfortunately for him, Faye wasn't taking the bait.

Hark, I smell a hottie heading my direction...

HI! Hey there! Hellooo!

I'm Puzzle what's your na... (see Faye's little face peeking up, just left of Puzzle? She's hard to see in front of the volunteer's black shirt.)

Um wait, where are you going? But...

(Shoot, was it my breath?)

Hang on, I'll come with you...!!

Darn it! I can't get over this annoying barrier thing!!

Sigh...

Oh well, I'll just go kiss some human friends...

Sunday Stretch with Shadow and Penelope

Knowing that Shadow is always in need of some outlet for all that happy, prancing energy Steve and I decided to take him to the dog run with Penelope. They hadn't played together before but it was clear from all the doggie play bows and jumping around on leash that the two of them would have fun, fun, fun together. Yes they did. The pictures are from AFTER they dashed around the pen madly together in between wrestling. Penelope is much more dominant and Shadow is happy to let her rule the roost. The periodic play fits were interspersed with some doggie yoga stretches. Ommmm.

My heart goes out to Mickey

He's a big dog cooped up in a small kennel. Indeed. This boy is clearly very unhappy to be caged up. He can appear to be pretty ferocious when you walk by his kennel and he's barking loudly. However, once you've leashed him up and taken him outside he is transformed. This elegant boy is quite easy to walk on the leash despite his size. Mickey walks along companionably with you and is more than happy to sit for a treat in the park. He's very treat-motivated and if you run your hand along his back you'll feel his spine quite prominently. Underneath all that gorgeous black hair he's a pretty skinny pooch. My hunch is that he may be older than 3 years. His more sedate pace and the white under his chin suggest he's earned a few more years than that.

Steve and I took him out with Chiona (a youngster by comparison) today. Mickey seems like he's interested in other dogs so we wanted to give him a chance to interact. Chiona was eager to play and she made some overtures but Mickey was content with a few sniffs. She was very polite and didn't push her energy on him. It was nice to see the two black pooches interact a bit and then continue on with the walk.


Mickey & Chiona Say Hello



What can we do to get this handsome, gentle boy out of the shelter??

Pitbull Island

Just another day at the office... What a pleasure to show up at the shelter on a Friday afternoon and find Puzzle and his pitty friends hanging out behind the counter. Anyone got treats?

"Excuse me, is that dog from Berkeley?"

So, this past weekend was one of my rare weekends away from the shelter. I headed up to Guerneville for a family wedding. I admit I'm not so keen on weddings but this one was lovely. It was outdoors by the river, the bride arrived via a flower-decorated canoe and the music (klezmer band) was delightful. Ah well. The morning of the wedding I stopped by a local coffee shop to indulge in my daily black brew. I sat at a counter looking out the window, admiring all the dogs walk by with their people. Guerneville is pretty dog-friendly and many of the hotels will allow dogs for an additional fee.

Anyway, as I exited the cafe I noticed a couple sitting with a grey pitty at the table in front. I always stop to say "hi" to dogs, especially pit bulls. I took a closer look at the pooch and realized he looked kinda familiar. "Excuse me, is that dog from Berkeley?" I had to ask. "We're from Oakland" the man said. "Is that Malik?" I said hopefully. Indeed it was!

As some of you may remember, Malik was a shy sensitive boy who was at the shelter last year. He was very stressed in the kennel. Fortunately, Home At Last volunteer Gina (and Boalt law student!), took him home for a night to give him a break from the shelter. As it turned out, she couldn't bear to bring him back. So, Malik hung out with her sweet female pitty Bella until she could find a stellar home for dear Malik.

And, it sounds like she did. Malik's parents spoke very highly of him and said he's a total love, that he's very popular in their Oakland neighborhood and he's doing quite well with his off-leash training. They were up in Guerneville for a stay related to Tiff's job and Malik was staying with them in their condo. Apparently he's very relaxed and the life of the party on comfortable turf but still gets a bit nervous when he's in a new place like in front of a cafe. I can relate, my pooch Jelly is equally uncomfortable around busy areas.

Anyway, it was a pleasure to run into Malik so unexpectedly and it made my time away from the shelter easier to bear! Thanks Gina and Home At Last for giving this deserving boy a new life.

Malik with his guardians in front of cafe.