My beribboned neighbor & other dogs

Meet Cain. He's my next door neighbor, out on one of his regular walks, complete with favorite frisbee. He would much rather have seen cat Max than a dull old human photographer. Below are his recent ribbons, won at a competition down in the Verde Valley, for which I congratulate this handsome Australian shepherd.

And here is Georgene's Posey, who was carried halfway across the country to her new home by a free pet transportation service. She's still a shy girl, but coming out of it.

Scout and Ruby (guess which dog she is) are two of Bob and Patty's three. Ruby is a recent adoptee.

And here's Whiskey Row's dog amenity. Considering how many dogs are walked at The Square, I wonder just how often that bucket has to be refilled.

These dogs have their day

Dogs and their humans were all over the place Sunday. Especially when you neared the Square, where the Second Annual Dogtober Fest was underway. I had to see for myself.

As you peruse the pictures that follow, you'll realize that I did see a whole bunch of canines. All kinds. The first five photos were taken along Goodwin Street, going to and coming from the fair.


There were little dogs...

...and sizeable dogs.

Although the basic reason for this city-sponsored event was to find homes for the homeless, many many Prescottonians showed up in company with their animals .

Yes, there were also a few commercial booths.

But the focus was on all those dogs. And a well behaved lot they were, too.

Here's one of several dog rescue operations (above) present at the event. Below, an adoption volunteer.

One of the visitors to the Square makes the acquaintance of potential adoptees. I've no idea how many dogs found homes on Sunday, but several wearing the "Adopt Me" outfits passed by me on Goodwin before I arrived at the Square. As for the puppies (below), I hope that each and every one found a human. I tend to be a somewhat squinchy-eyed cynic, I do, but I can only applaud the city for this operation.

Critter Report

Periodically, the critter pictures accumulate; this is one of those times. Let's start with my neighbors' dog, Cain, who has taken to observing the koi fish as a favorite pasttime.

And, of course, there's always javelina news. Spotted this fellow in the middle of the street up the hill from the library as I was headed over for the PWP meeting last Wednesday. He came downhill past the library, garnering a good deal of attention from the assembled writers...

Meanwhile, back at the ranch ... I tend to leave the door open to air the house out periodically. On one such occasions, this wasp entered -- and desperately wanted out. He was perched on the window when I took this picture.

I don't know if this is an event to celebrate -- or for weeping. Tis the first snail of the season. Looking for munchies.

And here's a triumph, of a sort -- I finally caught a raven with the telephoto, me in the kitchen and Rosco dwarfing the neighbors' bird bath. This, by the way, was a quite small portion of the picture.

Other folk have done far better than I at capturing images of local critters. The last batch of pictures submitted to the Courier's on-line gallery included terrific pix of an eagle in a resident's tree, pronghorns and a fox in a tree. And if eagles are your thing, do take a look at the nest photographs at Ocean and Forest Walks.

Forbidden Photos

This tale begins sometime back. You see, I have this problem with my otherwise splendid, if arrogant, Maxcat. He is not only convinced that, of the two of us, he is the alpha cat, but he insists on proving it by biting me. Oh, he does this in style, Max does. First he states (actually, he snarls) that he wants/is going to bite me, then he attacks. If I am wide awake, I have no problem. However, being awakened this way in the morning is another matter. Periodically these bites become infected. It happened again recently and I even talked about consigning Max to Miss Kitty's.

However, a good neighbor insisted that we could find a better solution -- and that a starting point was a good bed for the cat. So we were off to PetsMart.

Oh, so much Stuff. Like WalMart but for cats and dogs...

...and a few other pet-type critters, such as tropical fish and budgies...

...and very lavender birds for the Barbie pink and purple set.

The dog department...

...including safety gear for the pick-up truck and other automotive dogs.

These handsome hounds were the only live animals I saw on the floor of the store.

But the cat department was the goal. More Stuff, this time for cats.

Plenty of litter in wholesale lots.

Toys -- I think for cats, but maybe for pooches -- or maybe for their People.

More Stuff visible on shelves in the back room.

Years' worth of canned food.

And cat crunchies under various labels.

Ah, we're getting there -- bedding...

And then OOPS! I was approached, oh so politely, by a nice young thing who explained that company policy did not allow any picture taking. No explanation why. But being an affable sort, I closed up the camera, which hangs around my neck on a cord. Not good enough. After the young lady left, young man showed up with the same message.

Fortunately, the camera easily fit in my backpack, out of sight, out of mind. (Briefly I had visions of having to open the back of the camera, pull out the roll of film and expose it to light...but that was several movies ago. And even Eastman Kodak since has gone digital.)

I did settle on this handsome, convertible sleeping unit. Max, of course, wouldn't dream of bedding down in it -- but it proved a good safe post to keep an eye on the granddaughter, down for a visit this past weekend. And my buddy has almost reconciled himself to spending the night on his favorite living room chair, meowing piteously at the bedroon door only after my alarm has gone off the next A.M. and I have turned over to catch a few more minutes of sleep.