Lambiedog

L.I.D.*

    * Lambie In Disguise

Helicopter brother

          He tends to hover over me, anticipating my needs and smoothing my way.

        
       But we both know that it's high time for me to learn how to deal with obstacles on my own.  

           He's trying to learn to let go.

         

Whitley Heights

  

     Hollywood's Whitley Heights was the scene of our latest Secret Stairs walk -- Walk #36.  This was a classy area, with our first staircase being entered via a wrought iron gate.

Whitley Heights is an appealing and well maintained neighborhood.  Even the dogs we encountered seemed upbeat and welcoming.

        

Following the itinerary led us through one of the parking lots for the Hollywood Bowl, where we were surprised to encounter friends who were there to take part in the Amazing Los Angeles Race.

I wished them well as they embarked upon their endeavor.  

        Later we heard that they had come in first! 

    If the encouragement that I provided them helped in any small way, the sweat I expended on the stair walk would be worth it.  I live to serve.

Me and my owner

     My owner and I have a close relationship. Whether it is heading out to the bluffs, playing with my rawhide, or just relaxing, we stick together. 

  
                We're in sync. 

Keeper of the cords

The guys had gathered for a game of Starcraft.

My role?  Cord maintenance.

I found it to be hypnotically relaxing.

Bluff buff stuff

    As I was completing a bodily function at the bluff this morning, my eye was drawn to an adjacent Crossfit session being held by a group called Functional Fitness on the Bluffs.  

    I had vaguely taken in these sessions before, while in passing, but never paid much attention. Today, however, I took notice. 

     I wandered over to take a look.

        On the plus side, it seemed like something that might help me with my back pain.

    On the minus side, the class looked rather challenging, and taking it would defer my breakfast.

    The minus side won. 

Heroic rescue tale

    Enough about the deficit -- now here is a newsworthy story, from Australia. It concerns a dog named Bibi who is blown from a pier but saved by a heroic young man who happens to be at the pier to scatter his family member's ashes. 

Bibi's rescue actually occurred almost two years ago, but news is slow to travel across the Pacific.  Here's what happened:  

Bibi, who is a Maltese / Shih Tzu mix, was walking on the Brighton pier in suburban Melbourne with his owner when he was blown into the water by gale-force winds.  He tried to dog paddle back, but the wind was strong and for a while blew him even further from the pier.  

A hero named Raden Soemawinata happened to be on the pier for a ceremony to scatter his grandmother's ashes into the Melbourne bay.  Mr. Soemawinata stripped to his underwear (conveniently, he was a part time model), got into the water and swam Bibi to safety.

 
Bibi and his owner were both very grateful.

Contemplating the sunset with Thomas

It's great to have him home.

Hot day strains my enthusiasm

     Although we chose a blazingly hot day to do Secret Stairs Walk #1, in Pasadena, I nevertheless started the walk in an upbeat mood.  

Then it turned out that the stairs between Glenullen and Tamarac were blocked by tree trimmers (photo below), requiring us to detour. (Later the stairs were cleared enough so that we could climb them to get back -- see photo at left.)  

That was the beginning of the end of my enthusiasm.  

Noticing that many of the staircases we took were tree-shaded, I seized the opportunity to rest at each. No whining. Just  nonviolent protest.

    

My owner came over with some water to resuscitate me.

That enabled me to make it through the rest of the walk, and back to the car,

    
where I rested and took a vow never to walk in such unrelenting conditions again.

From sea to shining sea

Happy Fourth of July!

 

    (In case the allusion is not clear, in the photo above I am straddling the continent: looking toward the Atlantic, with the Pacific behind me.  I am a dog who is big on symbolism.)