Ringing in 2012 Cambridge Canine-style, we extend our congratulations to Laurie and Ben of Concord Avenue, whose 3-1/2-year-old Hungarian Visla, Lily, is pictured.
Laurie, a nurse, told us she had just returned from a morning run the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and was stretching on her porch when Lily came out to greet her. Attached by a yellow ribbon to Lily’s collar was a box containing the engagement ring that Ben, an attorney, gave her when he proposed a few minutes later. The couple hasn’t set a date yet, but they’ve already lined up – and trained – their ringer bearer. We can’t wait to see the wedding photos!
Having visited Greece and Italy I was not surprised by Istanbul’s ubiquitous cats, but I was totally unprepared to see so many stray dogs.
This dog seemed to be "supervised" by merchants near our hotel.
In my last post (“Cutting the Apron Strings”), I was anticipating the mutual separation anxiety that my now eight-month-old puppy and I would feel when I left him at home – not alone, I hasten to add – for a week while I traveled to Istanbul. The trip would be the first time Eddie and I had been apart for more than a few hours, let alone overnight. I am pleased to report that we both survived. Speaking for myself, I realize that our trial separation was healthy. I wish I could say the same for the TV remote control and my husband’s reading glasses, both of which unfortunately served as Eddie’s transitional objects. Continue reading “Turkey’s Street Dogs: A Doggone Shame”
As the mother of three mostly-grown children, I thought I was long past worrying about separation anxiety. Not that my kids ever gave me much to worry about on that score; all three were socially confident from the get-go, cheerfully waving bye-bye on their first day of preschool and always excited for play-dates and sleepovers at friends’ houses. In this era of helicopter parenting, I’ve always taken a certain pride in my children’s independence and self-assurance.
So it simply never crossed my mind that my puppy would be the one to suffer from separation anxiety. I first realized this Eddie was not cut from the same cloth when he was about four months old, and I dropped him off at the local doggie daycare center while I went on a job interview. I wasn’t overly concerned that he whimpered and tried to follow me out the door; I was sure that as soon as I was out of sight, I’d be out of mind. I figured he’d have a blast playing with new pals and forget all about me. Little did I know! Continue reading “Cutting the Apron Strings”
Santa with Little Dog, 2006 (by Kimberly on Flickr)
Santa is coming to town, but he’s not coming to see the kids – that is, unless your child has paws and a tail.
“Santa Paws” will be posing for photos with (nice) dogs of all ages at Crate Escape, too in Cambridge (Dec. 1, 6-8 pm) and at Crate Escape in Belmont (Dec. 10, 4-7 pm). Antlers and bell collars will be provided as well as refreshments. Photos (4×6) are $10 each. All proceeds benefit the MSPCA, so be sure to explain to your pooch that the embarrassment is for a good cause.
Extra incentive: Santa’s visit to the Cambridge location coincides with the Huron Village holiday fair from 6-9 pm the same evening. Boutiques will be open for business and are donating items to a raffle to benefit Community Servings. Buy local!
A tasteful pet portrait makes a wonderful gift any time of year, of course. Boston photographer Jay Stebbins raises the genre to the level of art. Take a look at his dog portfolio and check out his blog, Fido Loves.
Merry Christmas, 1998
This holiday season you may want to bone up on how to take great pet photos. The New York Times “Gadgetwise” column ran a very helpful article on this topic last spring, with eight rules of thumb (or dewclaw?) from professional pet photographer Grace Chon of Los Angeles. Her #1 tip? “Let the animal be an animal.”
“Photograph your pet where it likes to hang out, whether it’s the backyard or the foot of the bed. And give the pet its favorite toys. That’s one way to capture your pet showing its personality — have it doing what it likes to do best. It’s all about making the Rex or Whiskers comfortable.”
Before your dog meets Santa, take a look at some of the best-of-show holiday photos on Awkward Family Pet Photos. Who knows, after the holidays, maybe you’ll have an awkward photo of your own to submit!
When I moved to Cambridge almost twenty years ago, I made friends through my children. Once the three of them were in school and I went back to work, I made friends at the office. Now, unemployed and with my kids mostly grown, I’m making friends through my puppy. Continue reading “A Meetup for Little White Fluffy Dogs”
Bulldog by Tomomi Maruyama (Bronze, 24" x 20" x 36")
Bulldog lovers and Yalies will swoon over the bronze sculpture standing watch in the vestibule of Mobilia Gallery in Cambridge. Painstakingly hand-fabricated by Japanese artist Tomomi Maruyama, the one-of-a-kind piece is made of hammered bronze using the repoussé process, and finished with the traditional Japanese urushi lacquer finish. The dog’s studded collar is of copper and brass. Continue reading “Bulldog Brawn in Bronze”
I’m not religious, and I hope those who are won’t be offended when I say that, for me, walking around Fresh Pond is a spiritual experience. Living in an urban area, I am always grateful for the chance to commune with nature. Lately, circling the Pond has become a touchstone by which I take stock of my course in life, a time to clear my head and put life’s frustrations into perspective. Continue reading “A Pilgrim at Fresh Pond”
A notable canine family reunion took place last Sunday, as eight of ten Portuguese Water Dogs from a litter born in early 2010 gathered at the Danehy Park to visit their mother, Spray Baker-Brelis of Cambridge. Continue reading “Family Reunion”
One of the great pleasures of living in Cambridge is the palpable sense of the past. Scratch the surface, and there’s a story waiting to be sniffed out on virtually any corner in the city. In this post, I nose into the pedigree of a large dog statue that has sat watch in a private garden near Harvard Square for more than a century.
I first got wind of this antique canine curiosity while perusing an essay on the history of the Ash Street neighborhood. Entitled “Windmill Lane to Ash Street,” the essay was presented to the Cambridge Historical Society by its author, Roger Gilman, in 1945. At the end, Mr. Gilman digresses from his historical research to muse about the provenance of a dog statue that had become a neighborhood landmark:
“He sits on a lawn at the corner, as he has for forty years, since he was brought here from the Sands marble works. He is an artistic enigma. We know only that he was one of a pair, made about 100 years ago. Yet he is on a plane above the books of stock designs. Is he a forgotten work of some well-known sculptor? Is he a copy of some late Italian piece – like those Molossian dogs that guard the entrance to the Uffizi in Florence? However he came about, at whatever moment he was intended to mourn, by some base mistake he was sold down the river to our corner….now he is merely a despised Victorian, wasting his grief on an unheeding populace as its waits for the trolley on Ash Street.” Continue reading “The Ash Street Dog: An Unsolved Mystery”
We Cantabrigians pride ourselves on being progressive, but has Brookline scooped us with its Green Dog Program? Open, green space is at a premium in both places, and shared use is a front-burner issue that often boils over around the question of dogs in parks. In response, Cambridge and Brookline are piloting different types of off-leash programs, and while demographics and budgets have driven some of the policy decisions, I’m wondering what we can learn from each other. Continue reading “A Tale of Two Cities”
