Skye, My Slightly Cross Eyed Feral Cat

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Number seven in the lineup of my furry family members is Skye, a Lynx Point. Where do I start with her? Skye is a complicated one, the most feral of my cats, followed by Mango, another of my skitty kitties. Both are afraid of their own shadow, which is one reason I had to keep them. Let’s take Skye today.

I actually didn’t remember where I trapped Skye because I’ve trapped hundreds of cats so I had to look her up. I’m not like my co-worker, Leanne, who has a memory like an elephant whereas mine is in the hamster realm, purported to be three seconds long. As it turns out, Skye and her siblings were trapped as kittens in the Mt. Shasta area and brought to Marin Humane where I fostered her.

Leanne
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In My Mind’s Eye: Remembering Dad

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Here’s my annual Father’s Day post, adapted from an article I wrote for the San Francisco Chronicle in 1997. Happy Father’s Day! Here’s to you Dad…There’s an image I have captured in my mind. I’m in my car in front of the home my parents have shared for most of their 45 married years. Mom and Dad are standing on the front porch.

From the street, I can see the huge eucalyptus tree in their backyard, silhouetted against the evening sky. It’s gently swaying in the warm breeze while the full moon illuminates the manicured lawn. My parents are smiling and waving as I drive away after a visit.

Mom lives alone now that Dad is in an Alzheimer’s nursing facility, so that scenario has changed. But it never does in my mind. My parents always stood on the porch to wave good-bye when I left. Even in pouring rain, they still stood in the open doorway together. I always looked back and returned their waves. Continue reading →

Adventures with Wally

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Next up in my menagerie is Wally.

Eight years ago, when Marin Humane sent me on an errand to the Berkeley animal shelter, little did I know I’d be meeting my next dog. Now don’t get me wrong; I had no intention of looking for nor finding another canine. But as fate would have it…

When I pulled up to the facility, a man passed by walking an adoption dog, a black dachshund-spaniel mix. I’m partial to spaniels so he caught my eye. But I told my eye to quit looking, reminding myself I have more than enough pets. Well, plain and simple, my eye refused to look away.

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Savannah and Dash

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So where were we? Ah, yes…continuing the countdown introducing you to my 4-legged menagerie and their various personality traits that either drive me nuts or endear me to them even more. We’ve finished with Skip, Oliver and Fat Jack. So let’s tackle Savannah and Dash next, shall we? (Yes, we shall).

Savannah
Dash
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Oliver and Fat Jack

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Three weeks ago I blogged about my dog Skip’s quirks and endearing idiosyncrasies when I actually intended to mention all 10 of my animals…the good, the bad and the ugly. So much for brevity. I guess you can say it’s not one of my strong suits. So I’ll try again.

Let’s see…Oliver is my oldest pet. I don’t know exactly how old because he was found as an injured adult taking refuge in a dog house in someone’s backyard in early 2011. Marin Humane asked me to foster him. Thus I inherited my first failed foster.

Oliver with his neck injury
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