Nearing the end his life, he's not worried about eternity More than sixteen years ago, when we had bought the land but not yet begun construction, a small stray dog showed up at the gate merrily wagging his tail as if we were all old friends. We started to feed him each morning and for …
Tag: dogs
morning breaks at the ranch
When you live in the country, driving home on a lonely road after dark is scary. Sometimes it makes us wonder why we didn't pick a place in-town to live, easily accessible by an Uber or kind friends who would take us home. No, we're not afraid of roving narcotraffickers, highway robbers, bandidos or other …
Double deal, today only: Carnival of the Animals plus Pictures at an Exhibition, all in one post
For the past nine or ten years Stew and I have volunteered two weekends to work at a spay-and-neuter clinic sponsored by Amigos de Animales, a local not-for-profit funded almost entirely by the expat community of San Miguel, with additional support from the Guanajuato State Health Department.Our jobs are to sit by a table at …
Call me by my (weird) name
At San Miguel's spay-and-neuter campaignsyou can find some peculiar monikersAfter volunteering for spay-and-neuter campaigns or "blitzes" for dogs and cats in San Miguel for eight or nine years, Stew and I have inherited the weigh-in station as our permanent post. After registration, each animal has to be weighed so that the vets down the line …
Off leash and on a run
You may not agree, you may not care, butif you are holding this book you should knowthat of all the sights I love in this world—and there are plenty—very near the top ofthe list is this one: dogs without leashes. "Dog Songs," Poems by Mary OliverThough our seven-and-a-half acres of rocks, trees …
Are birds color blind or picky critters?
Birds may have small brains, but they have it all over people when it comes to colors. While engaging in one of those mindless and expensive habits that keeps the U.S. economy going—wandering around a Lowe's home improvement center looking for nothing in particular—I ran into a bright-blue metal bird feeder to replace the old …
How free pets become expensive
All of our pets are foundlings that we espied by the side of the road or by our front gate, and most notably Felisa, a rat-size puppy with an eclectic bloodline that Félix found under a bush.All dogs have some startup costs, such as sterilization and shots, but in the three years we've had her, …
Raining cats and dogs, hallelujah!
Dogs and cats, of all sizes, ages and stripes, keep coming, in cardboard boxes or repurposed birdcages, at the end of frayed ropes, or wrapped in blankets in the arms of their owners. Freaked-out cats howl while some chihuahuas, bug-eyed and trembling, appear to be on the verge of an anxiety attack. For the return …
Then there were five (mutts), again
After our dowager mutt Gladys died several months ago, under sad and questionable circumstances, Stew and I made a solemn pact not to adopt another dog. I knew it was going to be a fragile promise, though, what with a canine chorale that assembles outside our front gate every day howling for food, a reassuring pat …
Last night Negro put himself to sleep
It's sad when a pet dies, really sad, but not quite as much so when it dies by itself, sparing you the awful task of putting it to sleep, putting it down, putting it out of its misery. Pick your own euphemism. Any hackneyed turn of phrase will do except admitting you decided to end …
El Rancho Santa Clara 