protesting is a sacred right
in light of day or dark of night
those who would control us all
are they who truly fear a fall
let all know no heart can fail
that smiles at a wagging tail

++++

Seriously…  Read more 

 Read more 

Chauncy owns the front row, while the back row has, from left to right: Rudy, Phil, Hector & Luna

Chauncy had surgery yesterday on his back left leg. He had a torn anterior cruciate ligament, and without surgery would have become more lame with time. As it is he has had good and bad days in the past month, and the decision to have the procedure performed was an easy, if costly, one. He now has a steel plate inserted in his leg, and will no doubt set off metal detectors wherever he finds them.  Read more 

Chauncy, a Dog and My Friend

I took Chauncy for a walk this afternoon. We went down to the L.A. River and walked along its upper bank. He peed, I pondered, he shit, I scooped it up in a plastic bag. Friends do things like that for one another, and for the river as well.

I must be working out some strange karma, because many people came up to me on the river with odd requests and offers pertaining to Chauncy. One fellow wanted me to sell “the dog” for medical experiments. I declined. Another suggested, with some conditioning work, Chauncy might be put to use in a dog fighting ring—a little torture here, a little baiting there, and he just might prove to be a gamer. Chauncy growled. I shook my head no. The man moved along.  Read more 

Have a lovely weekend…

+++

Chauncy visited the wetlands in Huntington Beach yesterday, after earlier saying hi to many, many elderly in a convalescent home in Los Alamitos.

Some folks are wonderin’ why they was born
They ain’t never been swimmin’ with a dog in the morning
Hey Packy, I’m comin’ back again

From the song “Hey Packy”
Written by George Gerdes and sung by Loudon Wainwright III on his 1976 album “T-Shirt.”

+++  Read more 

Lydia la Groomer

Chauncy in Griffith Park

Juan Carlos, Latin Lover

Charlie the Chow

Regards to all!

+++

Jane Goodall was in Griffith Park to speak about Roots & Shoots (an organization she founded) and A Day of Peace. Her quiet but resolute passion combined with her gentle beauty and dignity all worked together as she spoke of committing to Peace, of turning shrapnel and bullet casings into artful bells (literally), and of all the ways that good, decent people can face a world of violence and remain unvanquished.

The Day of Peace celebration was held in Griffith Park on Saturday, September 30th—it was held in thousands of other venues on September 21st…

More images on the following page…

+++  Read more 

Chauncy & Tibetan Monks, Outside the Gibson Amphitheater, Universal City, Los Angeles, California, Earth, Milky Way, the Universe

Note: Chauncy was in attendance inside the venue—known formerly as the Universal Amphitheater—and listened to the Dalai Lama speak yesterday—he looked up every time Tenzin Gyatso mentioned “walking.”

L.A. Times story about the Dalai Lama’s visit to Southern California here.

+++

Last Saturday I met Jeff Fleiss at the rally for Noah’s Ark Animal Rescue, held at the entrance to El Dorado Park (immediaely adjacent to the entrance used by Long Beach Animal Control to access their facility.) With camera in hand, he spoke with NAAR supporters and made a video which he posted on YouTube. You can watch the video here. If you look carefully you can see Chauncy in the background…  Read more 

+++

Chauncy, the black and white Border Collie and (we think) pit bull mix was “rescued” on the Los Angeles River in July of 2003. He appeared at the top of a foot path and stared at me like I had been expected. He had no tags, no microchip, was not fixed: in short, he had the usual stats for a lost dog in our neck of the woods. Subsequent to our taking him home, no one ever put up a lost dog sign, and we asked Chauncy if he would like to live with us. He appeared to say yes.  Read more 

A Sentry in Kanab Purses His Lips For Reasons Unknown

+++

A day late, but here’s some more of the photo essay…

Chauncy & Signage

+++  Read more