Wool St. Gang Mix

Start with Venus, an elderly and super sweet Great Dane , add Slidell, a devilishly handsome Catahoula/Palomino mix, toss in Bruno and Vashti, two enchantingly beautiful Devon Rex cats and then saturate all of this with my daughter Rachel visiting from NYC for the holidays, and you have got one gargantuan lovefest going all week long, 24/7.

But when she asked Slidell if he'd like to go back east with her, he answered  flatly and without hesitation, " No. Do you have a truck? No."  

Ah, all good things must end...

no mi amigo, and then...

This is the last full day of my visit to the Central Highlands of Mexico and you could say it's been perfect. With gorgeous spring like weather,  warm and friendly people, beautiful vistas everywhere, and the food! The most delicious shrimp taco ever for 15 pesos - what's not to love? Well my friend  here for one. I would see this dog everyday in the Plaza de la Paz in Guanajuato, and along with every other four legged being I ran into on my trip, unless my fingers were made of hamburger, he wanted absolutely nothing to do with me. How is that even possible? I mean, don't they know who I am?

And so, when I checked into the lovely Las Sabilas hotelito in Guadalajara yesterday, it was with a heavy heart.  There's a dog here (ignored me), and  a cat (I didn't even try), and even though my gracious host, San Francisco transplant Bob Clark , upgraded me to the truly beautiful Garden Suite, with my own private garden and my own private goldfish pond and my own private banana tree, I just wasn't feeling it. I had an early dinner, watched Oprah on the American Network, and went to bed.

I woke in the middle of the night, struggled out from under the mosquito netting and headed for the bathroom in the dark, when I heard a distinct "prrrr", which could only be interpreted as "Oh hello, I'm so glad you're up!" Still, much panicked stumbling ensued as I scrambled to turn on the lights, and lo and behold! On my settee! A cat!

How did he get in? All the doors were locked, only one small paned window was open, and that was six feet high with no accommodating branches nearby to provide access. I sat down next to him and reached out my hand - he didn't move away!

I actually touched the cat.

The cat purred.

The cat climbed onto my lap - really! I'm not making this up.  An actual cat,  in Mexico, miraculously snuck into my hotel room and let me pet him! For like 10 whole minutes!

 I am restored...

In conversation with Bob over french pressed coffee this morning, he told me the cat is very clever and can get into any room. And, if there are fireworks, the dog can open any door. I'm praying for a really noisy night...

Big Mama

A mix of two purebred breeding dogs, ( a rottweiler jumped the fence where a golden retriever babe warmly welcomed him), Roxy is absolutely gorgeous. The true matriarch of her adoring family,  she rules the household with a calm and steady paw. We were having a very nice low key visit, when one morning, before I even opened my eyes, I knew something was wrong. The sun was too high, the air too still. I forced myself up and walked over to Roxy, and she greeted me with a loving look. Phew! But when I opened the door for her to peruse the garden, she lurched up, and with legs pinwheeling out behind her, she staggered outside and immediately fell.

Let me jump ahead and say all is well now - it turns out it was a nervous condition that can happen to older dogs, the name of which I forgot to write down, and with rest and dramamine works itself out - but yikes, it is really scary to witness. Roxy's extended family showed up en masse, to take her to the emergency vet, ( these things always seem to happen on a weekend, don't they?), to massage her, to sit quietly by her and offer gentle encouragements, so by the time her immediate family came home  she was well on her way to a full recovery. Oh, the magical healing power of love!

Charlie, ScreenFighter & Max, Midnight Lover

Usually when Charlie's people go out of town, they have a family friend  come to stay (curses!), so I only get a few days a year with him. But I cherish those days and try to make the most of them. Most of the time we can be found sitting on the couch, as Charlie is the perfect TV watching companion. He really watches closely, and if any animals come on screen, he gives them whatfor in a big way. It brings me great relief to know I am completely and fiercely protected from any four legged creatures jumping out of the television.

And now Charlie has begun to protect me from the friendly overtures of his new roommate, Max, a beautiful blue eyed Siamese cat. So Max waits patiently at night until Charlie begins snoring softly, and then he comes tiptoeing over for his cuddles. Very smart...

Butch, my rubber band boy

In truth I can't really call him a boy because Butch really lives up to his name. He is a manly man, as you can see. I am more than halfway through my week long visit with him, and although we go way back, I have just discovered his obsession with rubber bands. We spent most of yesterday's rainy afternoon with Butch springing gleefully throughout the house after 

a multitude of flying rubber bands. I guess that's why we get along so well, because we are both so  easily entertained.

A visit to Persia by way of the Richmond District

I was just in "Persia" for four nights,  a beautiful Richmond district flat with nine rescued Persian cats.  Needless to say this is one of my most labor intensive gigs.  I'm up early here, and as soon as my feet hit the floor, it's go go go.  Nine cats to feed and they all like to eat certain things in certain locations. This has been complicated by the recent arrival of a gorgeous calico cat, Lil' Kim aka Trouble, who gobbles down three dishes of her own food and then works her way down the line, eating every one else's, sometimes pausing to vomit along the way. She's street tough, and everyone cuts her a wide path. We're all hoping she'll calm down soon. 

Then it's on to cleaning and replenishing nine water bowls, refilling nine bowls of kibble and scooping nine litter boxes. After that all the cats need to have their faces washed and eyes cleaned, and their beautiful coats brushed. As you can imagine, not everyone is agreeable about this part of the morning. Once everyone has been fed, watered and is looking spiffy, they all drift toward  whatever sunny spot they can find and settle down for their morning nap, and I am free to head over to the Blue Danube Cafe for a latte, but instead I plop down on the couch for a nap of my own.