A Big Thank You and a Funny Blog

THANK YOU to everyone who signed the petition yesterday! I recognized many, many of your names on the petition list, and I was encouraged with each one. We have 525 signatures as of this writing, and though I don't know if it will help pass the non-profit proposal, it definitely helped me feel supported and loved.

A special thanks to my blogging friend Min who posted on her blog about Francie and the petition. She has a beautiful blog about her dog and life as the wife of a military man. If you haven't yet, check it out. She's funny and creative and has a yellow lab, Bella, pictured above. I hope someday we'll get to meet in person.


I decided my blog was getting to be too much of a downer, so I want to share some comic relief. A dog park friend turned me on to this blog called Hyperbole and a Half, and it is HILARIOUS. The pictures are illustrated using MS Paint, and their simplicity and zaniness adds to the sarcastic but spot-on writing. I have spent HOURS reading through her posts and laughing at her drawings--the best ones are highlighted on the side bar. They will cheer you up on your darkest day.

As far as the animal shelter and Francie, I don't know anything yet. I went to the city council meeting last night, and it wasn't good. It's too complicated and boring to go into detail, but things are BLEAK. I am separating myself from the shelter this week because there's too much fighting and nastiness there right now.

Next Monday, I will go spring Francie and bring her to our home as a foster. I have already gotten in touch with a couple of local rescue groups who have extensive networking contacts. It boggles my mind how fast they spread information! A rescuer contacted me this morning, saying this: "I love this girl's face (Francie's)--she looks like my Chance--who is a love of my life. There is nothing I would not do for him. You let me know when she is all settled in with you. I am connected with SF rescue groups. I am sure I can ask them for her to attend local adoption events. Thank you for saving her life!"

I'm hopeful.

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Dog Park Class

Today, Cabana and I took a class at the Marin Humane Society called "Dog Park Survival Skills". There were 8 dogs in the class, one of which is Cabana's dog pal Mindy, a tri-colored springer spaniel. It was confusing to Cabana and Mindy to be there with each other but not be allowed to greet or play.

The class was okay, but honestly, I didn't feel like I learned a ton. They talked about body language, group dynamics, human responsibility, and prevention tactics. I would have liked more depth on everything, especially the dog body language component, but it was only a 2-hour class, which isn't much time.

The fun part of the class was for the dogs to actually get to meet and play. I could tell Cabana was interested in this male dog named Darwin from the moment she saw him. She likes those rambunctious male types.

First, Darwin and Cabana had to meet each other on leash politely, where ideally, we want the dogs to arc around each other and sniff each others' bottoms. But Cabana was so amped up and eager to meet Darwin that she kept trying to meet him head on, which is an etiquette no-no. I think Cabana would have been much more polite off leash, plus Darwin was sending definite "let's play" signals so she already knew they would be fast friends.

When they were finally allowed off leash, they had a great time with each other. Cabana's play style would please Twilight fans (which does NOT include me, I am compelled to make perfectly clear)--in vampire style, she loves to have her neck bitten. She always presents her neck to the other dog, encouraging them to grab her scruff. Darwin's owner said that Darwin doesn't usually do that when playing with other dogs, but he definitely did that a lot with Cabana, a confirmation that she's encouraging that behavior.

Finally, Mindy and Cabana got to play, too. Mindy didn't even want to play with the other dog she was supposed to be playing with, but instead came running over to Cabana. It was really sweet!

The instructors encouraged us to call our dogs out of play often, to help keep the play mutual and under control, and to let our dogs know that when we stop them, it doesn't automatically mean it's time to go home. I saw some things that I still need to improve with Cabana--when she was focused on Darwin while on leash, she was totally blowing me off. She couldn't have cared less about me at that moment--dog distraction, it's her nemesis. Other than that, though, I was pretty proud of her.

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