Live Blogging Halloween 2014

Hi!

I'm Mina.

I'm a freaking skunk. And tonight, I'm live blogging Halloween 2014 IN THE RAIN.

7:16pm: Guys and ghouls, you may not know this but Swedish Fish are the next big thing. A black kitten and a teddy bear both declared, "I got a whole package of Swedish Fish. A whole package!" A whole package, according to the minion, contains like 5 swedish fish.

7:09 pm: A blue fairy has a deep discussion with the minion.
Minion: Hi! Which one do you want?
Blue fairy: *stares at bowl*
Minion: *points at lollipop* This one?
BF: No.
M: *points at Smarties* This one?
BF: No.
M: *points at nerds* This one?
BF: No.
M: *points at sour patch kids* This one?
BF: *proudly smiles* Yes!
Everyone is happy. Except me, because blue fairy didn't pick me.

6:59 pm: Zombie police officer did not arrest me for smelling bad. She didn't eat me, either.

6:48 pm: So far the most hilarious part of Halloween 2014 is the puddle in front of the minion's house. Many children have faced the puddle and have failed to successfully cross the puddle. I applaud the puddle.

6:27 pm: Guys and gals, ghosts and ghouls, this is possibly the most boring Halloween ever!! Usually by now th...oh wait, hold on. Okay, a cowboy just told my human minion (in a high pitched timbre), "You have a PUDDLE in your driveway. DID YOU KNOW THIS? You should do something about it." Haha, minion got schooled!

6:13 pm: An oversized superman toddler declared I was a DOG in a high-pitched squeal. I agreed. Then his mom kept telling him not to jump in puddles, "No! No! No puddles!" I agreed.

5:54 pm: Everyone wears masks. No one pets me. This is a day of great mourning and sads for me.

5:45 pm: No one pet me this time. NO ONE. What is wrong with these kids? Also it took a ghost 25 seconds to decide between pink nerd and purple ones. Then he grabbed the pink ones and said "purple!" Was he colorblind?

5:08: Four adorable kids arrived. I mean, I guess only three were adorable. One didn't even acknowledge my presence so obviously something wrong with him. The little princess proclaimed me a SKUNK! and then pat me on the head. That was cool.

Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret

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Find out why by supporting efforts to release the ground-breaking documentary Cowspiracy to a wider audience!

Consider contributing to the campaign to get Cowspiracy to a wider audience!

Larb Salad - Veganized

A local Lao restaurant Panoy Bistro in Grass Valley offers many delicious vegan options on their menu. My favorite is their vegan Larb salad, a mixture of sweet and spicy.

Larb is a meat-centric dish, normally containing minced meat and fish-based sauce. It is the national dish of Laos. I was craving the dish and found a few recipes that I veganized, closely duplicating the restaurant version (for a fraction of the price).

This is one of the easier ways to adapt your diet to be more plant-based - pick some of your favorite recipes and have fun creating plant-based/vegan versions.

So here is my veganized version of Larb salad!

Ingredients:
Sauce Ingredients
1/2-2/3 cup fresh lime juice (2-4 limes)
1/4-1/3 cup fake-fish sauce(You can make your own vegan fish sauce. Here's a recipe. If that is too expensive or time-consuming, I would suggest mixing 5 parts water to 1 part soy/tamari sauce + 4-6 crushed garlic cloves and reducing over medium-heat until extra salty...it took mine about 15-20 minutes.)
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp chili-garlic sauce (available in most supermarkets)

Other Ingredients
5 oz extra-firm tofu, small cubes (about the size of your thumbnail)
2/3-3/4 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
1 cup thinly sliced shallots
1 tbsp thinly sliced serrano chili
1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup mung beans (optional, but not)

Directions
1. Whisk together the first four ingredients.
2. Bring vegetable broth to simmer in large sauce pan over medium-heat. Add cubed tofu. Simmer until liquid reduced by half, stirring occasionally, 10-12 minutes.
3. Add green onions, sliced shallot, and chili to sauce pan. After a couple minutes, add sauce from step 1. Stir until liquid is almost all reduced, another 5-10 minutes.
4. Remove from heat.
Option 1: Cool off until room temperature or in refrigerator, then mix in cilantro, mint, and mung beans.
Option 2: Immediately add in cilantro, mint, and mung beans. Serve warm.
If you made it too spicy, add additional lime juice to cut the heat.

This made two servings and cost me about $1.70 per serving for a total of $3.40 for the meal. Your costs may vary dependent on availability of ingredients. I always have extra ingredients, so I will make this salad several days in a row with the fresh ingredients.

3 Signs Your Dog Loves Wearing Scarves

Have you ever wondered if your dog is obsessed with fashion scarves? Probably not. But if you have, here are three signs indicating your dog's love affair with scarves. These could be signs for celebration or an intervention. You decide.

15-yr-old Mina demonstrates.

1. Wears the same scarf but in different styles
It's never enough to wear a scarf in one manner, a truly scarf-obsessed canine enjoys a variety of styles with her scarf. For example, Mina uses a fancy knot looped around her neck in one shot, then brings that sucker up over her head in the next. One, a dapper scarf for a jaunt around town. Two, concussion treatment?

2. Modifies facial expression dependent on style of scarf
A dog who loves scarves knows to project the emotional intent behind the scarf. Mina understands this blue bandana in a puffed up bow warrants a big 'ol Pit Bull smile. This is not a serious scarf, this is a drive-with-the-top-down scarf.

3. Expects a B&W sophisticated version of every photo
The self-respecting scarf-loving canine has certain expectations when it comes to the final product, including a mandatory B&W version. Mina is either channeling her inner Audrey Hepburn or someone's grandmother.

Whether Mina loves scarves is debatable. She loves me. She loves cookies. So the combination of the two certainly creates an atmosphere in which wearing a scarf is the least of Mina's concerns. I think Mina appreciates being the center of attention too. Scarves give her that platform. Mina wishes all dogs could wear scarves, but her sister Celeste disagrees...she'll be featured soon with 3 Signs Your Dog Hates Wearing Scarves. Stay tuned.

The Year of the Scarf, Mina

Grim-faced Mina. Maternal Mina? Don't mess with me Grandma Mina.

Mina is tolerant.

True story!

When I lived in what I fondly refer to as the Halfway House, one of my neighbors had a 3-yr-old toddler. Sometimes I would let Mina wander around the front fenced in yard of the apartment complex. She liked sunbathing by the fence while I read books.

Me reading books and Mina sunbathing are common themes in our 12 year relationship.

Mina loves children. I cannot understand this fascination, given how shy Mina started when first rescued. Her trust and tolerance of children have never been in question (mainly ever since a 3-yr-old cowboy chased her around my parent's house - uninvited - one Halloween and Mina didn't eat him).

When Mina sees children, her demeanor changes. I find it weird to ask parents if I can take pictures of their kids with my dog, so I have no photographic evidence of Mina's love of children. This bums me out. Trust me, it's real.

Anyway, back to the neighbor kid. He was not taught how to properly interact with dog. The first time Mina met him, he swung a real life hammer at her. The kind of hammer only adults should use. It missed and I flung myself protectively over Mina, heaving her in my lap and explaining quickly how much Mina hates being hit by hammers.

He respected this, dropping the hammer. On his foot. Okay, so their first meeting didn't go great but future interactions went better. He learned to hold his hand out first and scratch her chest before petting her back or head. He learned not to tug on her tail or drape himself over her back.

Mina loved it. She loved this kid and his attention and even his tail-tugging, back-draping, hammer-swinging ways. However, I was thankful when they moved because they still let him play with that hammer.

The Year of the Scarf, Mina

I see the Year of the Scarf as a way to remember my dogs while they are alive. In remembering, I honor my interpretation of their stories. I hope they don't mind.

This is Mina's confident pose with an orange and purple hued scarf. She would wear this to a job interview and nail it. The interview, not the scarf.

Mina has not always been brave.

True story time!

During my university stint at Davis, I lived in a big house (five rooms, big by my standards). There was a glass table with chairs on the front porch. I enjoyed sitting with roommates and drinking a cup of coffee.

It seemed important for Mina to be with me at available times. I brought her out with me, her to lay down and me read a book. I was stupid. Mina's world involved safe zones - my room, the living room, the kitchen. Not the upstairs bedrooms, the dining room, and assuredly not the front porch.

I looped her leash around the table, settled into a chair and began reading.

Mina was horrified. I cannot fully express how troubled she was by this movement away from safety into terrifying new worlds. So of course she reacted poorly. Upon feeling the restraint of the leash as it tugged against the glass table, she balked. Leaping away towards the front door, I could only gasp in shock as my book and table disappeared...the book flopping uselessly to the ground, the table a little more dramatic.

Glass shattered everywhere. This did not endear the table to Mina. She planted herself at the front door, staring intently at the doorknob, waiting for me to get a clue. No one was hurt but it was a reminder that Mina missed out on so much the two or three years spent in a garage (or some other dark, confined space).

Mina aged perfectly and confidently. Mina at 15 is different than Mina at 4. I love senior Mina more than is probably physically possible. I loved junior Mina but it came with a lot of fears and struggles and concerns. We stuck through it, though. Super glad about that.

The Year of the Scarf, Celeste

Can you summon words for those ears?

I have seen those ears for nearly seven years. They looked the same in puppy form.

Celeste suffered from severe ear infections the majority of her life, leaving her sensitive about ear-touches. Sometimes I accidentally elicit a squeak from her if I handle her ears the wrong way.

Even during her darkest moments, her ears scabbed and painful, Celeste would let me tend to them.

Her ears are what the velveteen rabbit would feel like. Dog ears are like that but Celeste's especially so.

True story time. Two years ago, Celeste fancied herself a war mage. Sighting her quarry - a jackrabbit - Celeste tried her Barbed-Wire-Be-Gone spell and misfired, crashing wildly into the jagged metal. Unperturbed, Celeste only ceased her pursuit because of my panicked screams. Then she insisted on walking the two miles back to the car, despite my attempts at carrying her.

The wounds were clean and so bled profusely, inspiring a deep fear of blood loss and imminent death. In me, not her. She needed ten stitches to her chest and four stitches to her paw. She was cool with the pain meds.

She still chases rabbits but is more responsible around barbed wire.

I am grateful her ears were left untouched. They are perfectly wild.

The Year of the Scarf, Mina

Everything with dignity. This is Mina's motto. Primarily because I inflict many indignities upon her. For example, The Year of the Scarf.

Some may think she looks grandmotherly in this photo. Untrue. Mina is ready for a convertible ride down to a beach where she may fling her front paws dangerously in salt water.

Senior Mina carries an air of dignity and cuteness with her at all times. A fine line to walk, for sure.

Junior Mina never did. She was a rolling, frothing, bowling mass of muscle and thoughtless intent. My dad likes to share a story of walking Mina at the local park years ago. She weighed 48 pounds. He had a black belt in karate. And she dragged him down a hill. I think there was another uncontrollable dog with a mirthful guardian. Nothing bad happened.

Another true story. Junior Mina had a hard head. Senior Mina has the same hard head but uses it appropriately. Junior Mina believed all creatures had heads like cement. She greeted me daily with a leap to my face, her rock-solid cranium crashing into my less rock-solid face. One bloody nose and black eye later, I devised a strategy.

Before leaving for college classes, I would steal with me one of Mina's favorite toys (she had more than one). This was not so traumatic for Mina, thankfully. Upon my return, I would offer the sacrificial squeaky toy in lieu of my face. Mina loved this game. Her favorite toy AND person showing up at the same time? Nice!

To this day, Mina greets my return home with a squeaky toy in mouth and a happy grin on her face.

The Year of the Scarf, Celeste

I don't know about this, guys and gals.

Mina is included in this photograph as a small right ear in the bottom left corner.

Celeste turns seven in May. I adopted her as a puppy from the streets of Mexico. Literally, the streets of Mexico presented me with an adoption contract and I signed on the dotted lines. If only.

Dogs accept punishment (scarves, e.g.) for cookies. Celeste prefers an off limit approach to her ears but for a cookie? Wrap a scarf around her head stat! She did not paw or shake or generally act horrified. Instead, she stared with great intensity at the cookie which is located two inches above the camera. I wanted you to believe she loves cameras.

She does not. Cookies make cameras appealing. This is one reason why dogs are great. Wearing scarves is another. Rampaging across a meadow in glee is an additional one.

The Year of the Scarf.

The Year of the Scarf

2014 is Year of the Scarf, Mina and Celeste style.

Mina is now 15 years and 2 months old. She is living with cancer and has been doing so for more than a year. Two months ago, she had her first ever seizure. So of course 2014 should be the Year of the Scarf - frivolity and adorableness wrapped in a 35-lb Pocket Pit Package.

Celeste will be featured as well. She is far from thrilled about scarves. Trust me, you'll see.

I treasure the string of moments spanning into days spreading into months with Mina. Magical, I'd say.

The Chicken Show: Touching Snow

I want to preface this video with something - these hens have experienced firsts that you and I take for granted. (And by "take for granted", I mean basic necessities we may expect, like being able to walk outside our homes if we want...I don't mean we take for granted perching on hay bales or anything). They were rescued from an egg farm four months ago.

Since then, these are some of the firsts they've experience:

• Touching the earth - these hens lived in wire metal cages so small they could not spread their wings.
• Breathing fresh(er) air - on the egg farm, the fecal matter dropped from the cages was NEVER removed. It stood 3.5 feet high, nearly brushing the cages. The stench was unbearable. I know, I was there.
• Perching - chickens have an instinctive desire to hop up on something above the ground at night. For 2 years, they lived in a cage and had no access to perches.
• Nesting - I wish there was a comparable instinctive behavior in humans, so you could relate more. For a hen, nesting is VITAL to her well-being. A cage provides no nest.
• Feeling the sun - while they lived in an open-sided shed, they never had direct access to sunlight or sunbathing.
• Dustbathing - another innate behavior chickens engage in to reduce parasite loads.
• Choices! - can you imagine living in an airplane, seatbelted into your seat...for two years? Probably not, but you can probably understand that your choices would be very limited. Now these hens can decide which stall to sleep in, where to lay an egg, who to hang out with,  etc.

And now, for the first time ever, these hens experienced snow! It's quite a joy to watch.

These hens are from Animal Place. (And to be clear, I work for Animal Place as their education director and am totally biased in favor of these awesome birds).

When I was in college, I was vegetarian. I ditched dairy in honor of a mother cow and her stolen baby - her bellow of sorrow left its mark. If witnessing the separation of mother from child was the norm for the dairy industry, what about the egg industry? I researched and bore witness and decided eggs were not necessary for my survival...but omitting them from my diet was a just decision and an act of compassion for the hens and rooster chicks (the 150-200 million ground up alive upon hatching). These hens lived two years in misery, driven nearly insane from deprivation and torture. That they now leap in joy, explore in curiosity, stumble forth and touch snow? What a freaking amazing gift, world.

The Mina Show - The Seizure

It's been one full week since Mina had her first-ever seizure.

The seizure was a terrifying experience, more for me than for Mina. Curled up next to me, Mina suddenly arched back. She was star-gazing, her head arched back staring vacantly off into space. I thought she was choking, it mimicked that one other terrifying moment years past when I had to pull a chunk of food from her nearly unconscious, twitching form. I found nothing in her mouth.

The panic set in, my belief she was dying so entrenched that I just started screaming her name and shaking her. I was at my parents, visiting over Thanksgiving, and my dad had to physically pull me away. Mina flopped to her side, her front legs paddling wildly. And all I could do was cry her name.

It was a long ten seconds. She was unconscious during the seizure and when she awoke, it was to three of her favorite people comforting her. Confused, she could only remain on the couch. It took about three hours for her to completely recover.

I imagine if you are used to the horror of a seizure, you develop coping mechanisms. I also imagine that for many people the first time witnessing a seizure, well, it must have been my same experience - watching someone you love lose control of their bodies, spasms wracking their body.

Mina is fine now. I am left wondering what to do. She has not had another seizure. Her sleep patterns have altered since the seizure. When she falls asleep, she goes under deeper and takes longer to come out of it. I don't know if there is any correlation but it is the only odd behavior change I've seen.

I took her to the vet for bloodwork and chest x-rays (heart disease can cause seizures too). Her heart and chest look great. Her liver and kidney levels are fine. Her thyroid is low but she is already hypothyroid, on medication, and it is an unlikely cause of a seizure.

So I'm left with the unknown. I don't care for that feeling too much.

Plant Based on a Budget - Risotto with Kale

In September, I spent $300 on food. I live by myself. That's ridiculous. I decided to commit to reducing that bill and did so by 1/2 in October, spending $150 on food. I shopped at a different grocery store with a great bulk section and limited my purchase of specialty foods, like vegan 'meat', 'dairy', and 'cheese'.

This month, I'm being ever cognizant of the economic impact my food decisions have. It's amazing how we can be careless with our food dollars. It's the most empowering and important daily decision we make and too often, we make bad ones! Or at least I have, maybe you're perfect!

The genesis to a better sense of how much I spend on food comes from contributing to Plant Based on a Budget and working with the founder, Toni. In fact, she and other contributors are putting together weekly shopping lists and menus for singles, a two-person household, and a family of four...all for $25/person/week. You can check it out here.

I don't have disposable income, but in terms of my food decisions, I have been living as if I do. With the recipes I create or adapt, I'm really pleased that they are affordable, delicious and, more importantly, they enable people to eat more plant-based foods. This is a win-win.

Here's my most recent contribution - risotto with kale. Fancy sounding, but really affordable. I do a lot of cooking with my slow cooker, so this recipe is adapted for that.

I'm aware that not everyone will be able to find these ingredients - you can adapt this recipe to suit ingredient availability. For example, instead of arborio rice, use any other rice and make it a rice dish instead. If you don't have access to kale - look for frozen spinach or any fresh, dark leafy greens. I was only able to get organic kale so if you buy conventional kale, it will probably be cheaper.

Cost (note: I purchased these items at a northern California discount supermarket)
* Arborio rice: $0.75 (for 1.5 cups), buy it in bulk if possible otherwise price is much steeper
* Organic kale: $1.47 (for a bunch, they only had organic)
* Garlic: $0.20 cents (for 5 cloves)
* Bouillon cubes: 0.33
Total: $2.75
Cost per serving: $0.46

RECIPE HERE

A Canine Like No Other

Twelve years ago, Mina play-bowed her way into my heart and home.

Today, we celebrate 12 years together. And, we celebrate Mina's 15th birthday. I'm sorry I missed those formative years!

Mina circa 2005, no gray hairs to be seen!

Mina used to drive me insane. I would go on walks at odd hours to avoid other people and their dogs. She never listened to me (still doesn't). Three very qualified trainers notified me that Mina was Mina and basically her sassy, bad attitude was just her.

Having a dog who resembles a Pit Bull (and in Mina's case IS a Pit Bull) toughened my then (okay mostly still) sensitive nature. Want to rent a home? Good luck! Want to get homeowner's insurance? Ha! Want to live in Denver? Don't. Want people to run across the street in fear of your 45-lb dog? Yes! Want people to tell you your dog should just die already? Good times!

Things have improved for Pit Bulls and their guardians. Mina has done her part by not eating anyone or robbing any banks. This past Halloween, 200 children flocked to my home for candy. And Mina was ready to greet every single one of them. A young girl asked what kind of dog she was and when she learned she was a Pit Bull, I didn't have to cringe. "I LOVE those kinds of dogs!" she piped up. No parents pulling their child away. No kids screaming in abject horror. Just a sweet dog meeting some sweet kids (enjoying some sweet vegan candy). No big deal.

When Mina was 8.5 years old, I brought home a 7-week-old puppy from Mexico. I planned on fostering her until she found a good home. That is, until Mina took one look at her and declared her family. Mina put up with sharp needle teeth and reveled in having a play-mate. I loved Mina even more.

Before Celeste sprouted legs 

As Mina has aged, her body has declined. And yet, I love her even more. She was diagnosed with mast cell cancer at the beginning of this year. My heart shattered, put itself back together, and was determined to get larger with the love it has for Mina. Just last night, I had a moment in which I thought my gut and heart would reach capacity, that all the joy, tears, sadness, frustration, fierceness, devotion I feel for Mina would explode forth. She leaned against me and sighed. Somehow, someway, I made a little more room in my spirit and body for this little 35-lb dog.

Mina turns 15 today. She celebrates fifteen glorious years of squirrel chasing, fence fighting, rough-housing, leash reactivity, belly rubs, awkward sleeping positions, snuggles, deep thoughts and intense staring contests. Okay, mostly I celebrate, but Mina is getting some puppy cupcakes today so she's probably happy too.

To be clear, I never once believed I could love a nonhuman the way I love Mina. When I look at her, it takes every ounce of restraint not to immediately envelop her in a massive bear hug. When I hear her searching through the house - having lost me once again - I want to rush out to her and tell her "I am here. You are here. We are here!" When I watch her struggle to jump in the car or up on the bed, a little part of my soul designated Mina cracks and re-attaches. When she picks me over barking dogs, I feel pretty honored.

I tried to grieve her death when she was diagnosed with cancer, so certain that every new tumor spelled disaster. She has 24 tumors now. They are impossible to remove and I will never put her through the surgeries - she had one when she was diagnosed, six tumors removed (several more discovered). Her recovery was slow and painful, her stoicism and pain tolerance hurt to witness. It wouldn't be right or fair. So I tried to reconcile my love with the deep grief I feel when I think of her death. I imagine her absence, because it will happen. Eleven months later, I have met with little success in terms of grieving her loss to this world. Fail!

Mina is:

• An excellent kisser (though her breath is horrifying)
• A board-approved Snuggler
• Still young enough to fence fight for 5 seconds with the neighbor's JRTs
• A fan of small dogs and puppies
• An excellent soul gazer
• Great at parties involving food
• Awesome
• Certain she can take on the 100-lb dog-aggro Newfoundland at the house on the corner
• Proud of her ability to take on paper bags and freaking win
• A fan of food
• Okay with her sister but wish she'd play more bitey-face
• Getting slow and old but still way too sassy
• Currently okay with UPS delivery people and electricians
• A Canine Like No Other

Love ya, Mina. I hope to achieve 50% of your patience and forgiveness. You are practically at Level 500.

Age 6 + unripened cantaloupe

Age 7, conversations with shrubbery

Age 6 - laps, her favorite spot

Damn beautiful dog

I swear, she's a pointer!

Age 11 - perfecting her noble look

SERIOUS 

Yes, this really happened.

ZOMG YOU ARE HUGE HOWIE

My favorite dog and favorite cow. Love!

Age 4! Playing with a Cocker Spaniel

Geez, you are so white.

Haha, I'm just kidding. Pit Bulls don't eat Boxers.

True story: This got stuck on her mouth and she had to go to the emergency vet. Sad.

That one time when Mina let kittens nurse off of her 

After her surgery - never again.

Old and perfect.

Has a damn meadow named after her.

Mina's victory - Celeste sitting on her

Motherfucking canine love of my life, yo

How Can You Want to Eat Him?

 Tongue!

I can't believe people eat animals like Nicholas. Really, I just can't. I could no more look at Nicholas and want to eat him than I could at Mina and want to eat her. I extrapolate to other bovines and other dogs, because that is how I roll.

Liveblogging Halloween 2013

I'm back, getting ready for the hordes of adorable children. Mina's ready - she's on costume 2 and waiting for kids, because then she gets cookies.

Countdown begins.

6:00 pm: I hear the first trick or treaters coming. Exciting times. First timer using a Safeway plastic bag, way to recycle and reuse, kid. 5 kids in a herd. Power ranger, witch, person with a mask.

6:07: Next group! Four kids. This is a very business like group. No shenanigans from these children. A dead cheerleader, I think, and I have no clue what the others are. Mina ignores them completely in favor of peeing on some dirt.

6:12: Solo 8-yr-old skeleton. 

Skeleton: What are YOU supposed to be? *points to me*

Me: Uh, superhero on casual Friday?

Skeleton: It's not Friday!

Me: Oh.

Skeleton: Okay, I'll take the candy now.

All I've got on is a wonderwoman top and cape and regular jeans. Kids don't appreciate workplace humor. Or probably it wasn't funny, except in my head.

6:14: Cutest 2-yr-old ninja turtle ever. I wish I had got a picture, because Mina stood squarely next to him, surveying the court, tail wagging as he gently stroked her head. Then he invited her to continue trick or treating and she was all, okay sure. But then, the leash. Sadness for all.

6:20 pm: Two kids with glasses and suspenders. What are you? Nerds. What? Nerds are awesome, btw.

6:25: Someone wearing a fake deer head, I didn't even ask. Mad artist girl is my favorite so far. Mina just likes that she gets a cookie for every kid and is encouraging more children. 

6:27: CLOWN! Normally I am a firm believer that clowns are evil, but this was the most polite clown ever, so he's okay.

6:28: First injury of the night, a cowboy trips over Mina and falls on his face. But he's okay because he just missed a house and is extra excited about getting more candy from a house he didn't know existed.

6:30 pm: half-hearted attempt at being a mummy involves wearing black spandex and half a roll of toilet paper. Also, she couldn't stop laughing at Mina in her outfit, which left Mina deeply troubled and offended.

6:32 pm: An infant dressed up as a duck. Oh, parents. If you're kid can't eat solids, don't take them trick or treating. Just kidding, because that duck was cute. I gave him a couple dum dums. Or her. Sorry.

6:45: Another horde, they travel in packs!! A toddler dressed as a dog is Mina's favorite! But the ladybug toddler is cute too. And then there was a miniature Thor, and that's pretty adorable.

None are as adorable as Mina, though.

6:53: A young girl reminds me of the bravery level required to go solo up to a person's front door. I think she's dressed as an elf, shaking like a leaf, and being so so so so brave. I used to send my dad to get my candy when I was scared.

7:09: We have exceeded the 70th kid mark, people! One kid with a spiked helmet totally fell in love with Mina and kissed her on the head and she was like "I get five cookies for that". A little girl dressed up as a princess wearing a pink hoodie proudly proclaimed THANK YOU and then turned to her mom and screamed, 'SEE?!? I SAID THANK YOU" and all was well with the world.

Mina knows where to hang out:

7:17: A witch chirped, "See you next year!!" Oh man, kids on Halloween are great because they are learning about saying thanks and the future and ZOMG CANDY capitalism.

7:21: Kid dressed as "an Amish person" (their words) carrying a maglite, no candy bag. Where do you keep your candy? In my pockets! How's that working out for you? EXCELLENTLY!

7:25 pm: Girl dressed as a witch, "Is that a real dog?" Blank stare from me. "Costume?" she adds quietly. "Oh, yes." I reply.

7:26 pm: Kid dressed as superman with a sucker in his mouth, "Can I psuehhioeah her?" Huh? "Can I psuehgehi her?" Oh, can you pet her? YETH? Yes. K. *pets Mina* Kid then tries to run across lawn and all the parents yell, "NO RUNNING" and this is good because 3-yr-olds with lollipops in their mouth definitely should not be running on my tree-root front yard.

7:37 pm: "Is that all you have?", an affronted child asks. "I can take it back, yes?" "HAHA JUST KIDDING" the kid yells back. Geez.

7:51 pm: Times are a changing for Pit Bulls. A girl asks to pet Mina. After I say yes, she asks what kind of dog Mina is. Her friend pipes up, "She's a Pit Bull" before I can say anything. The other girl gazes up at me, smiles, and says "I LOVE those kinds of dogs". The other girl tells me about her companion Pit Bull and how she looks like Mina but is bigger. Five years ago, I don't think this interaction would have happened. I would probably not allow Mina to come out of the house on leash to interact with the kids. She would have still dressed up, but I would have kept her away from the kids out of fear the parents would get upset. Now, in this neighborhood in Grass Valley, CA, I don't have that fear. Mina goes out and says hi, I pull her back in if the kids don't want to interact, and let her get pet if they do. She thinks it's a win-win - attention from little people (her favorite) and a cookie aftewards. Good times.

8:08 pm: So many children. So many.

8:13 pm: We just hit the 200th kid. Cray.

Nicholas is Handsome

I'm not even lying, Nicholas is super handsome.

I met Nicholas when he was less than a week old. He was stolen from his mother. It's normal business on a dairy farm, maternal deprivation. To sell milk to you requires stealing milk from him. Can't have a calf drinking his own mother's milk!

He was bought at auction for $15, tied up outside of an apartment complex in Berkeley, and left with hay.

You do know what a day-old calf needs, right? His mom and her milk! Ruminants, like cattle, cannot consume hay at such a young age - literally, they cannot do it.

Nicholas spent several weeks in my office. It was the middle of winter when he arrived so darkness enveloped the sanctuary each morning when I would arrive for work. I would creep into the office and step carefully, quietly over his snoozing form. I made his bottles and fed him his milk, admired his soft down fur, and wished with all my heart that he could have his own mother. She should be raising him.

For the next four years, Nicholas was a terror. Not in an evil way, just in an I-Am-A-Teenager-Forevah way. He would kick his heels up and race towards any human he saw. Sometimes he would randomly kick out his back leg, and then flee the scene in joy. Humans were more toys than "someones".

It has only been in the past two years that he has come into his own sense of maturity. It takes bovines nearly five years to reach their adult size. They remain "babies" for 1-2 years, enter their teens for the next 3-5, and then calm down.

If he had been raised by his own mother, he would have learned respect a lot sooner. No human can replace a bovine mother and teach what needs to be taught.

When Nicholas and the other cows are in the pasture near the parking lot at the sanctuary where I work, I will slip into the meadow and find Nicholas. He will be eating grass and will pretend he does not notice me. Some mornings he will lift his head and acknowledge me, other mornings he won't. I lean into him and rub his neck, his back, the inside of his fuzzy ears. Some mornings, Nicholas will walk away - food is more interesting. Most mornings, I will know he accepts my presence when he leans, ever so gently, into my body. Peace.

The Mina Show: Serious Business

Being Mina is Serious Business.

The Celeste Show: Catch That Treat

 Celeste loves food like whoa. There is no food she will not try at least once, often twice just to be sure.

This is one of her favorite peanut butter treats. I couldn't catch any action shots of her snapping up the treat, but this photo captures the essence of Celeste - obsessed, focused, weird.

I love her for it.

The Mina Show: Need and Growing Old

Mina needs me like a fish needs water.

This is not my ego piping up. It is simple fact.

I do not think I was the first person to ever show Mina love and a kind touch. I like to think this, because the alternative is unbearable - three long years as a breeding machine without any human kindness. That is unconscionable. So I believe that someone liked her enough to rub the space between her eyes, to scratch the arch of her neck.

In recent years, Mina's need of me has grown, almost exponentially. Her faculties, on the other hand, have declined. She will sometimes race from room to room, panicked nails clicking on wooden floors. She will investigate every nook and cranny, confused as to my "sudden departure". Finally, she will pop her head into the spare room (the office) and find me typing away. Her body will relax, she will hop up on the sofa, and curl up into a Mina-donut.

There are times when I find this comical. Mostly I am filled with great sadness and a strong, fervent desire to hold Mina close to my heart so that our breaths co-mingle and we are deeply connected. She does not care for this, so I do not do it.

Mina is approaching her 15th birthday, 12 of them spent alongside me and 6 with Celeste.

Because I am human and can ponder the future, I will sometimes find myself imagining life without Mina. The space she occupies in my heart is egregiously large, painfully so. It is a tangible thing that presses against arteries and veins, pinches nerves. The absence of her is virtually unimaginable, but I try to fathom it anyways.

I don't know the why of my relationship with Mina. It is different than my bond with Celeste. It is even different than the friendship I shared with my first dog, Juju (who Mina slept next to for one night). It is different than my relationship with most people, because it is a sure, certain thing. There is no doubt, no fear of a friendship ending with Mina. Whatever our relationship isn't, it IS unconditional. She forgives me my impatience and sudden bursts of anger. I forgive her her sassy fence fighting and unyielding stubbornness.

When I look into her amber eyes, I see someone looking back. Someone who is trying to comprehend me in perhaps the same way I her. Someone who gets jealous and angry and can be ugly. Someone who gives so much love and hopes for a little in return. Someone who loves to sniff a blade of grass for fifteen minutes longer than any rational dog should. Someone who can't race around the backyard with her sister, but who will still play bitey-face in the morning.

Someone who curls up next to me and sighs the sigh of someone who has come home.