Mystery Solved

This just in: Mary's son, Maverick, just weighed in on the hyena. "I saw a scary looking dog outside Villasol during breakfast (last week)," he emailed, "that, come to think of it, had a hyena's coloration. Like a brindle German shepherd."

No Hyenas There

Today my mistress let me down: she didn’t take me on the weekly WWT outing. Of course she had an excuse. Well two, really.

First, the Wednesday Walkie Talkies were going to explore a neighborhood where Mary’s five-year-old granddaughter had spotted what she referred to as a hyena last week. She saw what surely must have been a spotted street dog in the parking lot of the little Mexican restaurant—Villasol-- where she had just eaten.

Thus Mary was afraid that when the WWTs walked the neighborhood adjoining Villasol, there might be stray canines who would consider me breakfast. Furthermore she figured dogs wouldn’t be welcome in the restaurant, where the WWTs planned to have their breakfast after the walk.

After my mistress got home I overheard her tell my master she saw several stray dogs wandering the streets, though none with spots. While I probably would have come out unscathed from the walk, I certainly would have been canis non grata at Villasol.

So I’m going to forgive Mary for leaving me behind, providing she takes me out for a walk this afternoon Now that (thanks to yesterday's rain) we've had a reprieve from the beastly heat, she has no excuse not to make it a long one.

See me Strut

I’ve walked with the ladies for the past two Wednesdays. Even though we started early it got plenty hot. I’m sooooo tired of this beastly August heat. To make it worse, my mistress’s son, Maverick, has dropped off his Lab, Chigurh (named for the asassain in “No Country for Old Men”), along with his part-rotweiler friend, Townes (named for singer Townes Van Zandt), for the week.

I had hoped the big dogs would hang out in the back yard and leave me alone. But they don’t like the heat any more than I do. So I’ve had to protect my turf in the house inch by inch. The only thing I really like about the situation is that when we take a walk, I don’t feel nervous about being attacked by larger dogs. I still shiver when I think about the close call I had with a big stray that tried to kill me in front of our house.

My favorite WWT is Ann McMullan, who I always greet enthusiastically. They say we admire those who admire us. Well, Ann is the one who loves the way I lift my entire back end whenever I’m leaving my scent. And she’s the one who is amazed to see how I can keep up with everyone for an hour on my short legs. (All I can say to that is that they may be short, but I’ve got twice as many.)

Now I’ve got another favorite: Mary Ann Franzke. Last week after we walked for nearly an hour in Olmos Park, Mary and I went to her house to see a video on Chataqua, where she and her husband spent a week this summer. I was on my Ps and Qs there, and I guess it paid off as this Wednesday she brought me four adorable seasonal outfits, handed down from a dog she used to have. Now I’m ready for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter (if I’m willing to wear a silly pair of rabbit ears) and the Fourth of July. See me strut!

Check out the Kindle Covers

Mary wasn’t able to walk with the WWTs on Wednesday because she and Lewis went to a breakfast club meeting where the speaker, former Bexar County District Attorney Sam Millsap, spoke about exonerated death row inmates he had met.

I heard my master and mistress talking about it afterward and learned that the speaker’s point was that death penalty prosecution is like air traffic control: there can be no margin for error. With humans there is always room for error. Hence he, like many others, has come to oppose the death penalty not on moral grounds but because mistakes can (and have been) made.

So instead of a fun walk with the WWTs on Wednesday I was subjected to a discussion of that heavy subject. To make matters worse, I had to go to the vet’s the next day for my shots. Thankfully Dr. John Kothmann is so skillful with the needle that I didn’t really feel a thing. Thus I’m pleased that he and his wife are coming over to our house for dinner soon. Dr. Kothmann is known for making a mean margarita, and he has agreed to fix some that night. I doubt they will offer me any despite the fact that the Chihuahua breed originated in Mexico, home of the margarita. Humans can be sooooo clueless.

Today one of the WWTs brought something over that made my mistress very happy. Lyn Belisle, who is an artist specializing in collages, has started making kindle covers. She created one for Mary using images my mistress caught on camera during a trip to Ethiopia in January. She combined fragments of them for a fascinating tapestry-like effect. Lyn has a website where people can see her designs. She also does custom jobs, like the one for Mary. The address is: http://www.etsy.com/shop/belisledesigns. The San Antonio Express-News interviewed Lyn this week about her designs. The feature hasn’t come out yet, so remember this: you read it here first.