Month: April 2019

Beware the Black Mustard

Yesterday, I glanced at a newspaper photo of the black mustard that’s carpeting the Santa Monica Mountains. To be honest, I always thought it was called wild mustard, but as you’ll see, that’s not the only thing I had wrong.

It immediately brought to mind a long ago incident with one of the daughters. I’m not naming names but she’s the one who encouraged her sisters to sue me for writing about them.

ELBEE I’m thinking of hiring her myself.

 

 

It must have been a holiday because she had agreed to go hiking with me and a couple of my friends. Our pace was obviously way too slow for her so I told her to go on ahead. She took off like a shot. Then, a few minutes later, I heard her yelling.

She’d run down a hill and into a huge patch of mustard. It was so tall and dense that she was tangled up in the flowers. She was not happy. I, on the other hand, was hysterical.

ELBEE It’s amazing that the daughters still speak to her.

That reminds me of another occasion when I apparently wasn’t hiking fast enough. A few friends and I were walking with the late, great Wilt Chamberlain. He jokingly, I think, kept telling us to “pick up the pace.” His stride of course was a quarter mile long!

ELBEE That is the most blatant and random name dropping that I’ve ever heard.

As far back as Charley and as recently as Stanley, I’ve loved taking pictures of the dogs with the spring flowers. I even got the husband involved. We had Elbee in the car when I saw a vibrant yellow patch of mustard and decided we needed to sit him in it for a photo.

ELBEE She forgot to mention that we had to climb through a bunch of foxtails to get there. I refused to look at the camera.

When we got home, I sat down to read the article in the Los Angeles Times. That’s when I did a complete u-turn into guilt. The black mustard is not indigenous to Southern California. It’s an “aggressive interloper.” It’s tall so it “hogs the sunlight.” It’s extensive root system allows it to beat the other plants to water.

This year, because of the rains, it’s denser than ever. To make matters worse, not only will it dry out and burn, but because it can grow to six feet, it can become a “fire ladder.” I was shocked because I kind of pride myself on knowing a lot about the native plants. What other mistakes have I made? What other inappropriate photos have I taken.

ELBEE Well, this selfie for starters.

 

 

 

 

 

My Friend Elaine

The good news is that this is not another obituary. My dearest friend Elaine is alive and well and living on the East Coast. We met in sixth grade and bonded over a report on Aristotle.

STANLEY What’s an Aristotle?

ELBEE He was a philosopher, someone with a lot of opinions about a lot of things. With his teacher Plato, he’s considered the “Father of Western Philosophy.” Hey, I dabble.

Elaine has always been there for me through the highs and lows. We have cried together. We have laughed together. Strangely we both have the unfortunate habit of laughing hysterically at totally inappropriate times. We celebrated graduations, birthdays and births. We had our first drinks together. We shopped for wedding gowns.

When my dad died on that high school morning long ago, she was the first one there. When my mom died suddenly and  it took me twenty four hours to get to Syracuse by plane and then by bus, Elaine met me at the station.

She even flew out to California for my first bodybuilding show, a huge step in my recovery from that near fatal car accident.

ELBEE Also her first diva moment.

STANLEY I’ve never seen anything like that.

ELBEE Gus will explain it.

Elaine probably knows me better than anyone else in the world so after “binge reading” some of my older posts, she shared a theory that made a lot of sense to me.

ELBEE I know people are binge watching Game of Thrones but her blog?

She remembered that I’d always been an animal lover but wondered if the “happenings” in my life were a catalyst for the work I’ve been doing with the dogs. It’s a world that I can, at least, somewhat control and where the outcome is positive. Not only does it benefit me, but the people we encounter.

It was fortuitous when Charley came into my life just after I’d read an article about the program at UCLA. He taught me what was possible. He was followed by Elbee, who was a bit more work but who has shown me miracles. Then sweet Gus found his way to me. I am so grateful for his gifts. I am also deeply hopeful that this incredible journey will continue with Stanley by my side.

 

When Elaine and I were kids, we’d take the bus downtown to go shopping. It was a fun Saturday excursion in a simpler and safer time. I don’t remember anything either of us purchased except for two special items. We bought little matching lion charms. To this day, we each have them. When I wear mine, I think of my friendship with Elaine and the years and the miles disappear.

 

 

 

 

 

Therapy Dogs, Always on Call

I was never the most graceful kid on the block. As a matter of fact some people have referred to me as a klutz.

ELBEE Let’s see. Among other things, she tore her hamstring sort of running, broke her foot walking, and gave herself a black eye in “remedial” gymnastics. And lets not forget the dislocated shoulder in yoga.

STANLEY Is that possible? I’m canceling puppy yoga.

A few days ago when I was walking Elbee and Gus, I bumped into a large concrete thing sticking out of the sidewalk and tore a huge piece of skin off my leg. I think it’s because I was paying more attention to the dogs than to where I was going.

ELBEE AND GUS We are totally innocent.

I knew that a simple bandaid wasn’t going to cut it, so I called the husband who, fortunately, happened to be working in a wound care clinic that day. Not surprised at all, knowing my history, he told me to come on down. I was halfway there when he texted me to bring Gus. A few of the patients wanted to meet him. With blood dripping down my leg, I went home to get him.

ELBEE She’s being overly dramatic.

As I limped into the waiting room, everyone practically broke into applause at the sight of Gus. An older couple in particular was delighted. They had wanted to see him for quite some time and had even been planning to come down to one of his demos at the Science Center.

We finally made it past his fans and into a treatment room. I was lying on a table when Terry, one of the nurses, came in to take care of me. Gus, who had been sitting quietly on the floor, suddenly stood up and put his legs on the edge of the table. He refused to move until Terry picked him and put him next to me.

As Terry, and then the husband, cleaned and dressed the wound, Gus stayed cuddled by my side. It was as if he knew it was his job to help me deal with the pain, okay it was only a little discomfort.

When we were leaving, there was a very handsome young man sitting in the waiting room. His face lit up as he asked me to bring the dog over to him. I could tell that he had some issues, but he was completely at ease petting Gus. After a few moments, he looked up at me and said, “Thank you. That just made my day.” When I hear those words, it always makes my day.

P.S. Stanley is obviously not an official working dog but this week, like Gus, he was my personal therapy dog. Aside from the whole leg thing, I had either the plague or some sort of cold that refused to go away. Stanley made it his business to comfort me.

ELBEE Some of you may be saying, “Aww.” I’m going with drama queen!

 

The Goofy Giant

Spring has officially arrived. I had my first up close and personal rattlesnake encounter of the season. I was coming down a trail when an obviously scared surfer dude (I’m judging) on his way up, pointed out a snake that was coiled up and rattling in the brush. Fortunately, I had no dogs with me, just my trusty stick.

He was ready to turn around and sprint down the trail. I convinced him to wait it out. Sure enough, a few minutes later the snake left and we both ran past it. I’m still not a fan, but I’m no longer terrified by them. The surfer dude is.

On the bright side, thanks to the rains, the display of wild flowers in the Santa Monica mountains is magnificent. It’s no secret that I’m obsessed with them. The hillsides look as if they’ve been painted purple and yellow and blue. My words and my cell phone photos don’t do them justice.

I’ve been taking Stanley with me quite a bit, on wide trails with no hiding snakes. He’s the logical choice since Gus, with his long hair is like velcro. Fox tails and everything else stick to him. And Elbee is getting a little older.

ELBEE Isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black?

 

 

 

Hiking with Stanley brings back so many memories of the hours of freedom that I spent in the mountains with Charley. He was always so calm and at one with nature. Charley was the true gentle giant,

Stanley, on the other hand, thinks that he can catch every leaf that blows by or every bird that flies low or is dumb enough to land near him. He loves people to a fault and would like to take off with every runner and bike rider who goes by. He is the true goofy giant.

I’ve noticed something interesting about him. Stanley has this weird thing about responding to energy. Note to the daughters: I am not crazy.

ELBEE Note to the daughters: yes she is.

When we run into children or someone with a higher energy level, Stanley acts like a lunatic and practically cries. On the other hand, if he’s approached by someone with a calm demeanor, he’s like a pussy cat.

Take the other morning for example. I stopped to talk to a young couple, siting by their car, getting ready to go hiking. The man was a laid back dog person who especially liked bigger dogs. Before I knew it, there was Stanley sprawled in his lap.

He is just as goofy at home, prancing around on his long legs, plopping down for belly rubs, spinning around like Elbee and Gus. But he has a new behavior that may be the funniest.

Hard as it is to believe, this cute little ball of fur who moved in about eight months ago is now the great big pup who constantly spies on the neighbors!

 

Gus Loves an Audience

This weekend, Gus made a triumphant return to the California Science Center.

ELBEE Can you say hyperbole? He did a demonstration. And no, this is not sour grapes.

Yes, Gus, representing the People Animal Connection and Pet Partners, did his first demo at the Science Tail exhibit. At the Discovery Ball he was a meeter and greeter. Yesterday he was a teacher. Unlike the agility dogs, service dogs and fly ball dogs who put on active displays, Gus and his fellow therapy dogs are there to show people about unconditional love.

From the moment we walked into the lobby, the dog charged atmosphere was buzzing with happiness, fun and excitement. I ran into an amazing therapist  whom Charley, Elbee and Gus had all worked with at UCLA Medical Center. She’d brought her dog loving daughters to the exhibit. As we chatted, so many people came up to say hello to Gus, calling him cloud, marshmallow and fluff ball.

Even a security guard came over to pet him. He shared how badly he wanted a dog but felt that with his busy schedule it would be like leaving his “son” alone all day. When I told him I respected his attitude and how much time I spent with my three dogs, he heartily approved and said “those are your three sons.”

ELBEE Wait until the daughters get a load of that one.

When it was time for our presentation, we were escorted upstairs to an enclosed area where a crowd was gathered around a fence.

ELBEE Sorry but that reminds me of the daughters again. When the oldest heard they’d be presenting in an enclosed area with people watching, she commented, “Oh, like the zoo.”

After we were introduced I spoke for a few minutes, mainly gearing my remarks and questions to the children in the group. It was interesting to see how few of the kids or their parents knew the difference between service dogs and therapy dogs. After briefly explaining what therapy dogs do, I shared a few stories that really seemed to resonate.

We all know that they were there to see Gus not to hear me, so next I let Gus perform. He was at the top of his game. Give the dog an audience and his inner diva takes over. He almost started going through his repertoire of tricks on his own.

The last part of our visit was the best. It truly spoke to the heart of what our dogs can do. The staff from the Science Center stood by the gate and let a few people in at a time to interact with Gus. Smiling parents came in to take pictures of their delighted children. One very happy grandma spent a few special moments with Gus.

 

 

 

 

Even knowing Gus’s temperament, I was impressed with how he handled it all. He was gentle. He was sweet. He rolled over for belly rubs. What impressed me even more was how patiently people waited. No one complained or walked away. When it was their turn to meet him and chat for a few moments, all I saw were more smiles. All I heard were kind words.