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| Bel Marin Key |
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| Louie (12), Mira (4) |
These two mischiefs were to become the deserving focus of the next month for us.
Louie is the king of the castle, 12 years old and with the family since young. The household naturally runs to his clock - food, walk, rest, food walk bed. Repeat. He is super chilled, nothing and no-one fazes him but he still loves his cuddles ...... especially in the morning.
Mira is a rescue dog and Bibi and Mark have only had her for two years. She came to them complete with "fear aggression" from not being socialised as a pup, and/or from being a street dog and fighting to survive. She is frighted of other dogs to the extent that she believes her only defense is to behave aggressively toward them from the get-go and as such was not to be trusted off-lead. Her foibles make for an interesting (and at time intense) walk. She is also wonderful company, chilled in a different way to Louie and also loves her cuddles.
We introduced them to fishing (of course!) and we all four spent many a day lounging on the banks of Bel Marin Key, waiting for "the strike".
Louie is the king of the castle, 12 years old and with the family since young. The household naturally runs to his clock - food, walk, rest, food walk bed. Repeat. He is super chilled, nothing and no-one fazes him but he still loves his cuddles ...... especially in the morning.
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| Could you resist this face!? |
Mira is a rescue dog and Bibi and Mark have only had her for two years. She came to them complete with "fear aggression" from not being socialised as a pup, and/or from being a street dog and fighting to survive. She is frighted of other dogs to the extent that she believes her only defense is to behave aggressively toward them from the get-go and as such was not to be trusted off-lead. Her foibles make for an interesting (and at time intense) walk. She is also wonderful company, chilled in a different way to Louie and also loves her cuddles.
Louie immediately recognised the fish as a potential food source and watched the water intently for any sign of movement. He could barely contain his excitement each time a fish was landed.
Mira was more interested in whether anyone was passing by .... with a dog!
This also turned out to be the place we finally tested Mira to walk off lead. We could see for miles. If someone was approaching with a dog, one of us would sit with her to help her feel secure (as we were instructed to do) and hope for a chance to introduce her appropriately to the right dog. She got calmer in leaps and bounds and she thoroughly enjoyed running around with her new found freedom with the grass tickling her belly and enjoying a cool off in the water - See video below .... Music composed (and possibly played) by Mark Summer, Louie and Mira's very talented and well renowned Daddy. The piece is called Julie O.....
Any day were weren't all to be found hanging out at Bel Marin, we would take the doggies around the Indian Valley open space. A wonderful dog park a short walk from the house which had a forest walk and a pond. This was our best opportunity to meet lots of dogs and further cement Mira's socialisation.
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| At the pond |
Mira practicing her "doggie skills"
We had so many opportunities to socialise Mira that we were confident to let her off lead at the dog park in the end also. Always keeping a watchful eye on approaching dogs and getting down with her to facilitate any interaction opportunity, she had some wonderful play opportunities with dogs (and owners) willing to humour her (us).
Fia's owner, Flavia, was the first of these people to take us under her wing and encourage Mira to play with her gorgeous pup. She soon invited us to her home where her husband, Joe, made Pizza. Near the end of our stay, they also took us to the San Francisco and the Presidio
Here we were shouted to a lovely lunch at The Greens, located at the Fort Mason Centre - an old navy barracks, resurrected as a series of pop up restaurants and markets. We also had a mooch around Fort Point, right under the Golden Gate Bridge, and the beach at Chrissy Field. Thank you Joe and Flavia for introducing us to this part of your lovely city!
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| The view from The Greens |
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| Chrissy Field |
We also had the pleasure of meeting Barbara and her fuzzy furry, Jackson, in the open space. She immediately invited us to her house for a dinner party on Easter Sunday. There were a few friends and neighbours and we all bought a dish, Bring a Plate style. We feasted on roast ham, an array of gorgeous vegetables and we made and took New York Times Lemon Pudding Cake - delissimo!
http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/12363-lemon-pudding-cake
We caught up with Barbara and Jackson again at the end of our stay and enjoyed a walk together at Bel Marin Key. They feature in the video - Jackson is the cute blonde ;-)
http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/12363-lemon-pudding-cake
We caught up with Barbara and Jackson again at the end of our stay and enjoyed a walk together at Bel Marin Key. They feature in the video - Jackson is the cute blonde ;-)
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| Fia, Jackson, Mira and Louie - treat time |
We were all having so much fun!
To be continued ........
To be continued ........
