It seems like yesterday that I piled an 87-pound red-nose pit bull mix named Cooper into my car and became an instant foster parent, but it’s been nearly a year. I wrote a series... Read More
It was a Saturday afternoon in late April at San Francisco Animal Care and Control when Lana Bajsel, executive director of Give Me Shelter Cat Rescue, overheard two officers discus... Read More
On the same day that Jasmine Blue and I saw eight 6-week-old Weimaraner-pit bull-bulldog mix puppies off to their new foster homes and the beginning of the rest of their lives, we ... Read More
The weather couldn’t have been more perfect July 7, 2010 for a drive down the coast. Jazzy and I had been invited to stay at one of the ocean-view, dog-friendly cottages at the R... Read More
The first appointment available for Jasmine Blue at the UC Davis Department of Dentistry was Aug. 18, a full two weeks after her cancer diagnosis. They were the longest two weeks o... Read More
That first night at the Stone Villa motel, I’m amazed I slept at all. The last word from the doctors at UC Davis veterinary hospital, when we left Jasmine Blue with them for yet ... Read More
One of the best things about being a dog is that you have no clue when you’re going to the dentist. Don’t get me wrong; I have a wonderful dentist, Dr. Sima Salimi on Union Str... Read More
Seven days after Jazzy’s dental work, we headed back to Davis to see if her mouth had healed enough to proceed with radiation therapy. The doctors had informed me it usually took... Read More
The night before Jazzy’s first radiation treatment, I was a nervous wreck. I had no idea what to expect, and she had no idea what she was about to go through. We arrived in Davis... Read More
Jazzy and I fell into a comfortable routine last September, leaving Davis Friday afternoon after her radiation treatment, spending the weekend at home in San Francisco, and heading... Read More
I thought living in Davis for a month would seem like a lifetime, but instead it was over before I was ready to go back to the fulltime hustle and bustle of San Francisco. Jazzy an... Read More
Side effects from Jazzy’s radiation treatments started to rear their ugly head during our final week in Davis, toward the end of September 2010, with red chapping around her lips... Read More
And oh, here come those sidewalks again And oh, here I go And oh, here come those long walks, my friend Where roses in canyons And night blooming jasmine still grow “Jasmine,” ... Read More
My friend Kin is a scientist who works with cancer cells. From the time Jasmine Blue got cancer, Kin was always there – to lend an ear, to explain the anatomy of a tumor, to teac... Read More
“Somehow our devils are never quite what we expect when we meet them face-to-face.” – Nelson DeMille September 2011 presented a month of milestones: Jazzy passed the ... Read More