Local Street Accommodations

I rarely have deep thoughts alone and hardly ever become scattered when I have someone next to me, especially after running 5 miles with my best friends. I seldom am left alone to ponder about the past or the future. Why go there? It's the past and should be left alone. The future will be here in a second, as soon as I take a deep breathe. In the drizzle of all that was present and clear, the drops came to me. I was relaxed and had no care in the world.

It's Friday here on Ellsworth, and car owners are scrambling like dogs on spring break who are not spayed or neutered at an off leash park, searching for that perfect spot to park their vehicles or lift a leg before the parking enforcement tickets them for parking on the side of the road that's going to get cleaned. We live on a fairly closed off block, away from major traffic, but there are times when cars speed up and max out to get from one stop sign to another. It makes no sense why these same people have multiple cars for one household and only become stressed out on street sweeping day. It's like an angry waltz: one car moves out of a space, another car moves in. One person will move one car, walk around the block, move another, then proceed to move three more cars. James watches with the same amusement as when he goes to the movies the series of calamitous and desperate manouvers that manifest on street cleaning day.

"Good morning. Don't forget, the street cleaner is scheduled for your side of the street today."

Sometimes this is the only time neighbors ever communicate with one another. Most of the dwellers in our neighborhood are new, and have unfamiliar faces and skeptic looks, from places as near as Brentwood, and as far and in-between as Idaho and Argentina. Last night, the new neighbor across the way had invited guests to her pad. Normally, you'd think a mouse lived in her house, considering how quiet she entertains her own solitude. She rarely talks and will no way meet the gaze of mama or grandma. Geez! Makes me wonder what kind of socialization and public etiquette most of these humans were reared with. I happen to know a Pomeranian named Koda with more class and charm.

Anyhow, I was amazed at how vocal this woman was last night. Taking into account how she goes out of her way to never speak a word to any of us, yet will open all the windows and doors to express her blabber, cheers and laughter. Makes me wonder, "Is she running a brothel?" Heck, I am a dog and I can oblige her and suit her accommodations if so needed. Whatever the case, in the ninety degree heat with all the windows open, no one could get any peaceful quiet sleep until the Thursday night party decided to disperse at some ungodly hour.

People defend pitbulls, saying that they are profiled as bad dogs when it was just how they were raised. Well what about people? There are people who would be profiled as harmless, that people think can do no harm, but who aren't so innocent, just like there are retrievers that people think could never be mean who will attack and maul people. Anyone, of any species, can be selfish, and anyone, of any species can be like me, perfect.

Flying Bear Heart

July 13 marks the anniversary of Grandpa Andy's passing and his return back to Mother Nature's womb. A day rarely passes that I do not hear James speak of grandpa. You see, James grew up without a dad, and grandpa stepped in and filled those shoes. Grandpa was turing 60 years old that year when James was born and little did he know he would be raising another boy. James' mom, Moonie, had just turned 20 years old and had her hands full adjusting to the cold Colorado weather and coping with James' dad being stationed in Vietnam. When they got back to L.A., Grandpa was the main man in James' life. I am very glad my birth mom, Hermione, gave me all the love she could before she gave me to James and Mama. Grandpa must have been a great man because he sure loved James a lot. I can feel that love each time he takes me for a walk or run in the park.

In honor of Grandpa, James proposed that we do a Remembrance Run. We prepared ourselves with plenty of fluids, with no knowledge that today would be so full of sun. The sun finally came out after being dormant for the last 12 mornings. The cloudy days had been fantastic running weather, but we knew once the post July 4th weather subsided, the sun would shine on us again. Thanks Grandpa, we love you!

Agility Tango Lessons

Today, I met what could potentially be a match from heaven. I think I am smitten for a new dame. Her name is Denver, a one year old boxer, and let me tell you this, I would climb a mile high mountain for that beautiful damsel. And to top it off, Kobe has no clue. Kobe and I are partners, but I have made first dibs and claimed the potentiality of this superb meeting. Besides I have already danced the "Tango Nuevo" with Denver, with a few sacadas and ganchos thrown in for good measure.

It all began this morning, we were all tired from the day before, but Mama and James were game to take me on a 2 mile run around Bellevue Park for good measure, so as not to deviate from our daily physical activity. We than came home to prepare for our first class with Drew Marsden, my Agility Class Instructor, at the Pasadena Humane Society. Drew is a spectacular trainer with a lot of enthusiasm. I had no idea I would be leaping over hurdles and standing on paws tables. So much fun! We get to do this for two more Saturdays! My life is good. Every moment, every minute, my life is good. I hope to share it with everyone, especially my ladies.

Crush and Rejection

I am starting to believe James and mama are forming a coup. In there attempt to keep me and Mamba from interacting with each other, James placed Mamba with Kobe in the back of the truck on our drive home after our 5 1/2 mile run and I strangely formed some odd emotional feelings, like an emptiness in my bowels. Somehow I do not think they understand my dire need to be around such beautiful four legged creatures. Mamba is the most beautiful thing I have ever laid my eyes on. I now know what James must have endured, along side dozens of testosterone driven boys at catholic school, who would leap at any chance to see girls from Immaculate Heart in their plaid dresses. But I feel even more deeply about Mamba. One day she will see the qualities I share, meanwhile I will live the westside story, separated by overbearing parents.

Lesson learned today, play my cards right and anything can happen. I love Hanna, but she only has two legs. Eloise and Lula got away, but not Mamba.

Kobe: The Most Interesting Dog in the World

Today was our first day back from a well needed time off and we tackled the index trail from the pony rides in Griffith Park. Not the pace I would have liked, but indeed on the right trail, we ran 4.5 miles. We were joined by Hanna, Kobe and new-comer, Mamba. She will be joining us on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the remainder of the summer. Mama says Mamba is quite the fertile myrtle, if you can catch my sniff, and I think Mamba thinks I'm cute. I think she's lovely. But for some reason James and Mama are on full alert when I am next to her. We just want to play! Mama says in a few weeks Mamba will be "one of the guys." I'm not sure what that means, but it sounds like we'll still be having fun.

Kobe is well seasoned and only wants to test the goods, rather than get to know the creature like myself, and is uninterested in fueling a lasting friendship. I, on other paw, would like to romance Mamba for a fun run in the park and perhaps a swim in the ocean. Surely Kobe has been watching Dos Equis' The Most Interesting Man In the World commercials and feels a need to be macho, yet as much he struts and delivers tons of warm charm nuggets, I am glad he is my partner. Much can be said about Kobe, but no one can deny his special aura and the famous trademark that gentle bear leaves behind.

Antibiotics and Tetanus

Probably not the greatest day, but certainly not the worst. I woke up the same time I do every morning, with the sound of the neighbor's truck starting and Skuzum peeing in the toilet. James is pretty vigilant, especially during the summer months, about waking up especially early and than coaxing me into bed with mama to keep her warm while he makes his coffee and raisin bran toast. Just the morning before, James woke up abruptly due to a love bite from Skuzum. That morning James and Skuzum had been sharing some cuddles and James fell asleep, only to be awaken by the bite out of the blue delivered by Skuzum to his right forearm. At first it was not anything serious, just a small puncture wound, but it turned into a vast infection beneath his skin which than lead James and Moonie to visit the emergency room. The doctor prescribed James two shots: one tetanus and one antibiotic, in addition to an oral antibiotic he must take twice a day. James will also need to follow up at the emergency room tomorrow to make sure the infection has not worsened.

I missed being able to run with James today, however we got to go for a 2 1/2 mile trek through Griffith Park instead. By the time we were done, I noticed that James sweated more on our hike than if he had ran. I am sure this is due to his mind and body working especially hard at getting rid of the infection. I overheard him telling mama and Hanna that he was truly glad to be out and this actually helped him breathe in some fresh air. As sad as this may seem, in Los Angeles if you get up early enough there is still a sliver of a chance to breathe in some quality oxygen.

Now it's bedtime and the excitement of the day is wearing down and the humans are trying to calm down and not think about the hospital tomorrow or the chaos of the holiday weekend coming up. Me, I'm not thinking about that at all. I'm thinking about rolling over, spreading my legs, and letting the cool night breeze coming through the open window cool my sweaty paws.

The state of the union.

It looks like we will not be able to make our summer trip up north as hoped. James completed his MBA a few years back, and now as part of our journey, mama is in the middle of an MFA program. To become competitive in the field, James has been taking classes to become a certified dog behavioralist and trainer. James is still enrolled with Animal Behavior College and part of his curriculum is interning at the Pasadena Humane Society. He broke the news to mama that his projected end date will not be until early August. His voice was not very chirpy when he was breaking it down. But she understands the sole purpose of us living here in Los Angeles is James and mama fulfilling educational goals. So since education for both of them is the main goal, it seems everything else takes a back seat, including me playing at beaches. All the same, many of the pieces of our dog training business are slowly adhering and things are falling into place. We still have very few clients. In fact, just one and his name is Kobe.

The funny thing about Kobe, he is not what you would expect. He is a handsome chocolate lab, eight years old, slightly graying hair around his muzzle, who loves attention. If someone were to meet him for the first time, they may be alarmed at his commanding presence. But actually, he is one big teddy bear. When I first met him, he was a voluptuous 110 pound, out of shape mammoth. Now he has trimmed down to a 95 pound of lean machine. When mama met him for the first time he was loving her so much while she petted him that she was welcomed by a behemoth sized deuce he laid right next to her feet while she was chatting with Uncle Jay. I was not very gracious with him like mama was, nor was I expressing my enthusiasm. Instead, I simply walked up beside him and tinkled on his nose as a way to express my ingratitude and displeasure at his treatment of my mama. She deserves tender loving care, not a warm steaming caca!

Time has passed since, some many moons ago, but we are still reminded of Kobe's powerful dynamic punch. He never lets up either. We are always amazed at what we find and how pungent his message is. But we love him.

Fruitful Day

Just shy of seven miles today. Our pace was pretty steady throughout, but the heat was beginning to pester. We ran a new trail course that lead us to the Griffith Park Compost Station. James is piecing together alternate trails so we do not grow bored with the trails we have memorized and grown accustomed to. Besides, its nice to smell new aromas and take on new trails. Occasionally James and mama will smell onions at Griffith Park, and on other occasions they smell the scent of fried potatoes possibly from the driving range just below us when we are on the Bill Eckert trail. Humans seem to relate everything they smell to their taste-buds. I have a snout for picking up the scent of a raccoon. I knew they were near by today, especially around the corner of the restrooms. While James and mama were occupied in the restroom, I was busy tracking and Kobe was leaning on Hanna, as usual, we were both eager to get started. Kobe is my brother form another mother. And Hanna, she is my "suyeong gom."

Kobe's owner was away this weekend so we watched over him and made sure he was well fed and loved. Kobe, aside from being a stud and a handsome chocolate lab, is the biggest fruit. He loves his fruit, especially when he is bored at home. Uncle Jay has a variety of trees in his backyard, currently the peach and plum trees are in full bloom and being the farmer that Kobe is, he inspects them daily. He inspects the unripe ones first and if they are not up to par, he will climb the tree and snatch it from the branch and take it upon himself to dispose of the thing by munching it away. Consequently, this morning during our bathroom break, James was amazed by a clump of peach pits hibernating in Kobe's stool. Kobe is a genuine "pit" bull.

I must have peed 20 times. I should have kept my fluids because by the time the run was done, I had no more and was really dehydrated. James pulled me over to wipe the foam that had accumulated around my mouth, while Kobe and Hanna ran ahead. I was glad we paused for a bit because mama was just a few steps behind and she gave me a nice tap on my rump. That was all I needed to get my body in motion and back to our truck and home to my pool.

Opportune June Boon

June gloom? The phrase does not exist in my dog vocabulary. I love the cool weather. Besides, anyone in a healthy state of mind would never judge a day by the weather. Only humans come up with labels for the day. The hour. The month. The year. Time has no meaning to me as a golden retriever. Why do people see clouds, my wonderful friends the clouds, and then say things like "gloom" and act sad and sluggish and resentful all day? They did the same when it rained. They did the same when it was invigoratingly cold. They will act even more grumpy when it gets so very hot that we can barely move. We should all enjoy what Mama calls Opportune June Boon.

Just this morning on our way back from our daily exercise I overheard James and Mama discussing the the relevance of time and the affect it has on the overall society. I just sat against the camper shell and thought about where I was, near the window while Kobe kept bouncing back and forth. Kobe rarely listens to a word anyone says, in his own little world, but he sure has a way to share affection. The stories I overhear are interesting when I am in James' truck. They mostly involve people and their flaws. "Human's have lost their ability to be happy and are consumed with self importance." James shared with Alexia. "Why do they fake their happiness with cell phones, BMW's, loud noises, and image?" I think James is right, but I do not understand completely. You see, I do not wear a leash for vanity's sake. I wear a leash to follow, to be connected, and because there's a law about it. Do city dwellers where the same leashes? Perhaps their leashes are leased and rented.

June gloom is just another category for the weather and it's seasons. I am not gloom. I am not even June. I am the moment everyone has always wished for.

ZZZZZZZzzzzzz

It is 6:15 a.m. and my eyes are closed. The night was tough on my G.I. and I am no longer awake. My paws are no longer twittering. I am sueno. James is looking after me with tired eyes, but with a careful vigilant watch. I know this for a fact, because he loves me. He is my master and my trusted friend. The bond we share is a tight weave. Closely bound together since my eighth week in this world. Alexia and James picked me. From a liter of nine I was chosen and to be called Sundance from that point on.

There I am, on my way home with him to Santa Cruz, California. Discovery Bay was now a thing of my past and I most likely will forget my brother and sister, especially my mom. That's fine, because where I am headed the smell of ocean will replace the fertilized fields of Contra Costa.