Big Day, Big Hearts, Big Dog Park

We had a big day. Little guy was wheezing and scratching his ears. It was time to go to the SPCA and see what help they could give us.

There, we met Bobby (cute young guy with floppy bangs who was very sweet and helpful).  He named little guy, Gutter--since that's were I found him--but no. I'm not naming him Gutter. Bobby took little guy to see the vet and get some more info. on his conditions:

1) His eye is not a cataract but something called "nuclear sclerosis" similar, but not the same.

2) His teeth are bad but not so awful there's no repair bad, she believes.

3) Little guy definitely needs to be neutered, but also they don't want to do it, because of his age, he needs blood work done before hand for his own safety. Good to know.

Bobby got on the Internet and the phone--while little guy peed on his floor. Oops, again--and we may have a vet who can do the neuter and teeth for a lot less--still potentially expensive, but we will see. At least there is hope. :-)

Oh, and this: while we were standing there, a man came in to make a charitable donation. He asked about little guy? I told him, we chatted, he went back to give his donation. On his way out, he stopped handed me  a TWENTY DOLLAR BILL. Merry Christmas, he said, and walked out. All I know is his name is Greg and he gets enormous generosity karma points and wings. :-)

After the SPCA visit, we needed some park time. The dogs meet another big guy and sniffed over something together.

This place is amazing, out behind the courthouse in an industrial area. You'd never know it was here unless you had a dog. Big dog side on the left; little dog side on the right. :-)

Shot from the same spot, a great skate park on the other! What a cool place! Off Power Inn Road in Sacramento).

What a day.

d, xo

Saturday, Sunshine, River

We've had the most incredible weather this December. Grand blue skies, slightly chilly, sweater weather. Eventually, it will surely rain, but for now Mother Nature practically demands we go to the river.



The guys waiting for me to get it all together.

Just starting out on the dunes. Little guy got a new bright orange jacket just for these wide open range occasions. Easier for me to spot and, hopefully, less likely to look a rodent, or hawk/coyote dinner.

 The only time he stands still is when he's peeing.

 Purveying the river. Happy dogs.



Becoming friendlier.



  The nearly impossible to pull off, family photo.

Back at the car; nap time.

We spent the whole afternoon wandering up the dunes, down along the water. Zephyr swam, little guy tip-toed through the sand. We tromped up the levy and down the trails. It was absolutely beautiful.

d, xo

Morning Walk, Day 8

We walked quite a ways this morning. Little guy was just about to sit down and call it quits in this photo. He was a great trooper, keeping up, but then he was done. Plop. I had to carry him home. My arms were limp by the time we arrived.

I may need one of those doggy backpacks...words no one would EVER imagine me saying. This dog is not a dog anyone would ever imagine ME having either. Big dogs, mountain dogs, herding dogs, that's me. Or, that's my illusion of me. Now I'm a woman who is homing a small fluffy lap dog, one that sits in the crook of my arm, one that wears a coat & needs a sweater.

Can you hear it? The universe is laughing and laughing. Oh well. Laugh away.

d, xo

Park Morning, Found Dog, Day 7

Our daily ritual, plus one.

It's a bit more, walking two dogs--one small, one large. It's like adding a toddler to the quiet loping of two. Little guy is here, there, everywhere. He isn't impossible, just more.

We had his vet visit today, which was a lot more--more news, more worry, more expense. Little guy has a cataract, terribly bad teeth, bad skin. He's much older than originally declared, 8 to 10, perhaps more. He was declared "aggressive" after nearly biting the techs, and therefore unadoptable, leaving me sour and less hopeful.

The vet today (new to me) is very analytical, no bedside manner. She could have been talking about a car engine, not a dog. "The dog is lucky, at this point." Less hope, less hope...

My father, who I rely upon for pick-me-up fluffing, was rather dismissive, time to move on, enough of this distraction, you gave it your best, now enough is enough. (He didn't actually say these things, but his implications were loud and clear.) I prevented my mother from taking the same route. I may disconnect my phone, because really, WHY do I have to decide anything?

You know that old writing adage, "You may only be able to see as far as the glow of your headlights, but you can make the whole journey that way"? Well, that's how I feel about this. I am not going to MAKE a decision. Something will happen. I may find him a loving owner. I may keep him, the world may collapse, etc, etc. butwe can do it, live it, one day at a time. That's all I've ever got in me anyway.

I took Zephyr out on a big dog walk after it all. We went out kicked leaves in the dark, tromped under the stars, through the park, followed the glow of the tennis court lights and just were.



Back home, right now, all dogs are fed and presently sleeping. Zephyr is upstairs on my bed. Little guy is downstairs on Zephyr's bed. All. Is. Well.

This morning in the park.

Zephyr finds a stick.

Little guy in his new coat with a collar. The stitching is in dog bones. It's very dapper.

d, xo

P.S. I'm changing his hash tag from #lostdog to #founddog because, really. ;-) 

The Dogs, Day 5: Trip to the River

Saturday: a gorgeous day; we needed to get out of the cardboard box and go to the river. Little guy trotted along, a real trooper. He still doesn't come, sit or stay. He won't even look up when you whistle (nope, he's not deaf), but he follows along the trail, stays around Zephyr and me. And when he wondered a bit far I ran after him, turned him around like a wind-up toy and he trotted on with us.

He does not like the water. He also does not like peanut butter (!). He does like to pee on everything.

Starting out on the high grass

 On the trail through the trees

 keeping up with Zephyr

 A pause to smell the foliage

 Something in the fall air



 First and only dog in the river



 Walking back along the water. Each rock was like a small mountain for little guy.



 The salmon have run and now there, well, ick. You can smell them in the air. Zephyr's checking out the source.

An hour and a half later, back in the jeep, little guy curled up, shivering in his basket. 

Out cold before I even got in. Big day for a little guy that was scurrying down a gutter, covered in mud 4 days ago. Who ever saw this coming.

d, xo

P.S. a guy on the trail asked, "What IS that? It looks like a hedgehog." Poor little dude. :-) 

Lost Dog, Day 4

Grooming day got a big fail, when little adorable here, went all Kujo on the groomer. It was like watching a Grimm beast transformation. Yikes. So embarassed, I bought shampoo (oatmeal for bad skin) & a special brush and bowed out with my apologies.

In the park, before we the groomers

I got kind of bummed, because I was so looking forward to some miraculous transformation. I may have been a bit misguided. For one, this dog is older than 6. He's old. And my fears that he's unadoptable because of that snarly incident worries me.

Happy bath moment. Soaking in oatmeal shampoo.

Still, not to give up, especially when he's living in our small apartment and he SMELLS. I gloved up and gave him a bath myself. (We'll call it number one in a continuation of baths). Surprisingly, he was a complete gem, better than Zephyr, stood very still, no whining, zero snarling. He just shook. And then my heart melted all over again and I scooped him up in my arms. (Big sucker! should be tatooed on my forehead.)

All freaked out, fresh from the bath, shaking like crazy, but fine.

I did an okay job, but I get why these little dog groomings are expensive. He's miles of long fur, all matted and he's so fragile. Brushing took a while and I gave him (us) a break. Will come back at it later. Suddenly, he looks more Pomeranian than Yorkshire. Who knows what he is.

Being very patient while I comb him. POOF. We may need some conditioner.

Little guy--or as @thejeanmartha and @writernwaiting named him Rusty or RuDolpho. Right now it's just little guy.

d xo

Nap Time

Today has been amazing. People have been sending money for the little guy's vet and grooming fund and I am floored by their generosity. FLOORED!

For a while, yesterday, I thought I was going to have to take him back to the pound. I was freaking out. I just couldn't afford to take on this little guy, even as a foster. But today, complete strangers stepped up and donated enough now that I can get him groomed--oh, does he smell, even after I gave him a bath! Plus his hair is matted, and he's SO tiny! I'm terrified to even go there. So, now he can go to the groomers--toenails too! :-)

In the jeep, he travels in the laundry basket; nap time too. :-)

Also, he's been sniffling and he's got a goopy eye. I have Zephyr to think of too. I can't have him picking up something. So, now I can take the little guy to the vet, have him checked out, get medicine, if need be.

We'll clean him up and wait to see if an owner appears. If not we'll find him a good home. I'm sure of it.

d, xo.

LOST DOG, DAY 3

If you haven't heard, I found another dog. Here he is, all ratty, dreadlocked & lost. Poor dude. I've been "fostering" him for a few days now because I can't bare to give him up to the pound. Zephyr (my own dog) isn't sure about all of this, but we're trying.

Right now he needs a bath, a REAL dog grooming bath, complete with nail trimming, de-dreadlocking, flea goop and, sorry, an anal glan clean-up, which apparently is a small dog thing & let's not say anything else about THAT.

The cost is $35 to get this guy to the least expensive neighborhood, reliable groomer I could find. Plus, he needs a proper small dog harness, which is all pushing my budget at the moment. So, if you would like to help clean up this little dude, make him presentable for adoption I would be incredibly grateful. Just donate what you can at the PayPal button above, left.

I promise to show before & after photos too!
Your karma will rock.

dahlila xo

p.s. I tried adding the donation button to my Wordpress blog, but it wouldn't take. For the original Lost Dog post, look here: http://snowflowerstreet.wordpress.com/2011/12/06/lost-dog/

Vintage Luggage Heaven

I was out picking up my mom at the airport today and was early, so I trudged in the 100 degree heat over to terminal A to shoot my FAVORITE installation pieces--there's actually two of them.

I have more photos. I'll try and post them later, but this was my favorite shot. It's all real, by the way, every piece is vintage--suitcases, train cases, soft cases, hat boxes. I think there's even a golf bag up there near the top.

I could sit there, sipping coffee, staring at it all day. :-)

d, xo

Retro Sacto

One of the oldest Sacramento hardware stores still remaining, East Sac Hardware, in the neighborhood since 1951, got a great new mural on it's neighborhood side wall. Super vintage!

Bravo to them for the great new clean up & revamp. Love it.
dahlila xxoo

Vintage In the City

A few weeks ago I walked with my camera through Sacramento and really looked at its past. The signs--literally--are fewer, so I wanted to catch them before they are gone. These are some favorites I found. Rodney's Cigars is the only one still in business.
When people regularly sewed there was a repair store to fix your machine. Remember those? Fix-it shops. There was a time when home items were repaired, instead of tossed. I'm hoping this recession will bring that back.

I love this sign: Rodney's Cigars & Liquors. Look at the graphics! Classic!
Since Dahlila, Found sells vintage luggage, this sign grabbed my attention. Specialty stores, fabulous.
And that's my mini tour update. Now go out into your city, town, neighborhood and take a look around. I bet there are some fabulous hidden treasures from the past. Save them.

dahlila xxoo

Walking Through the Past

I took a long walk with my camera in Sacramento today, something I never, ever do. I've lived here for years and today I walked around all wide eyed, looking up, staring down and snapping photos like an anthropologist. This city doesn't think too much of it's past. Old is out. New is in. The suburban landscape spreads and spreads, but I stay close to the center, the city, the grid. It just has more life.
I thought it would be fun to share some vintage shots before it all gets torn down, and it will. This is the old Tower Records on K Street Mall. It was the smallest of the 4 local Tower stores-- Broadway being the original, where I worked as the graphic, in-house artist many years ago.

I don't know who painted this elaborate, psychedelic ceiling, but I remember 1975 painted on it. It closed years ago, long before Russ Solomon closed all the Tower doors--an incredibly sad occasion for most cool local kids worked at Tower sometime in their life.

Now, this building sits empty, ceiling chipping away, drunks in the alcove, but I took a minute to look up and remember some great vintage memories. At least--as one rumor went--it won't become a Starbucks.