Urban Hounds

I'm happy to report that Brownie the pup is doing great with her new mom. She's a whole new dog, now that someone is there for her. A big improvement from the lonely concrete basement here, minimal exercise, and no training. G. and I walked her around the park near her new Upper West Side home, and people were constantly stopping to pet her or smile at her. It's a happy story for both G. and Brownie, a veritable ABC After-School Special: G. says she thinks she sees evidence of cigarette burns on her body, which is too sad.

I'm sorry to see her go, though. She and my own pup P. were getting to be buds. My guy is seven years old, so he was playing big brother, it was real sweet.

P. is a real city-country dog, he's kinda seen it all. Originally he was a farm dog, but the farm went bankrupt and the family shot all the dogs... except for P. and his sister J. (who was adopted by someone else, and who I had the pleasure of meeting). The two of them, the legend goes, escaped and were found wandering in the woods. They were taken to a canine rescue org, which is how I found him. He lived in Brooklyn with me for a while, and now he's in the Bronx and PA. He seems to make the transition back-and-forth pretty well. I was surprised by how anxious he was in the country at first, it was a bit too much for him - too much space, too much freedom (maybe reminders of his traumatic past). He'll often just curl up inside on his bed and sleep, even on a nice day when the doors are open. Sometimes we hear the gun shots of hunters, and that completely does him in.

In the country, P. gets beef rib bones after dinner and vegetable scraps, and whatever he can swipe off the compost pile when we're not looking. In the city, he gets chicken bones and other icky stuff off the streets (he's often too fast for me to catch him). Of course it's all the same to him. He's a dog, leftovers are leftovers. But I wonder what he thinks about when we're en route from one place to the other. Does he anticipate the country (grass! hiking in the woods! none of that salsa music!)? Does he look forward to getting back to the city (man, I'm beat, I just want to lie around in that small box of a room in peace)?

Good news: D. the landlord backed down on the rent increases. Hopefully he did the math, i.e. a month or two loss on rent for folks who move out, vs. whatever he would have gained by the increase. There's still a hike, but a reasonable one. I hope this means the same for us when our renewal comes up. Also, a new cafe just opened up, it's the only one anywhere around here (it's probably a mile, maybe more, from here). I haven't tried it yet, I think they're Greeks who own it; will post a report soon.

Ella's doing good these days. I saw a mini-orchid at Trader Joe's the other day for 7 bucks and almost bought it, so Ella could have a companion; but I had my hands full (literally), so maybe next time. We're taking the rubber tree to the country so we can re-pot. He has a name now - "Little Man" - after a minor character from Season One of "The Wire." Not such a nice character, but we figure at least he'll be tough.