pet connection

Yesterday I went to San Francisco to get some errands done (this week I’m driving the 2008 version of our DogCars.com Best in Show, the Honda Element). Stopped off at Christie’s to have lunch and have her cut my hair. (In another life, Christie owned a handful of chic salons in SF and is the only one who really “gets” my thick, curly mop.) Became re-aquainted with her sweet Rebel, the gorgeous 130-pound Scottish Deerhound who makes my retrievers and shepherd seem small, and Miss Kyrie Borzoi in all her silken elegance. Christie’s mom, too, who understands that me giving her last name to my dog McKenzie is a compliment.

I had Heather and Drew with me, and they enjoyed seeing Christie, too. In all the time I’ve had Drew, Christie had never met him. They liked each other, no surprise.

In addition to her work for the Pet Connection and SFgate.com, Christie’s also the editor at PetHobbyist.com.

From Christie’s Dogged blog:

One of the PetHobbyist.com family of websites, RescueNetwork.org, is presenting an evening with Nathan Winograd as the opening event of its 10th Annual Chat Week — which is, in honor of the anniversary, going to be Chat MONTH this time around. Please help spread the word, thanks!

An Evening with Nathan Winograd
Friday, February 1, at 9 PM Eastern Time

The event is free. For more information or to sign up for a free email reminder of the chat:

http://www.rescuenetwork.org/articles/NathanWinograd.html

Nathan Winograd’s 2007 book “Redemption: The Myth of Pet Overpopulation and the No Kill Revolution in America” set off a firestorm of controversy — and inspired an army of animal lovers across the country, calling for serious reform of the American shelter system and an end to the use of killing as a tool of animal population control.

RescueNetwork.org is proud to present an evening with Nathan Winograd as the opening event of PetHobbyist.com’s Tenth Annual Chat Month. Please join us on Friday, February 1, at 9 PM Eastern Time in the Auditorium. In addition to authoring “Redemption,” Winograd is the director of the national No Kill Advocacy Center. He is a graduate of Stanford Law School, a former criminal prosecutor and attorney, was director of operations for the San Francisco SPCA and executive director of the Tompkins County SPCA, two of the most successful shelters in the nation. He has spoken nationally and internationally on animal sheltering issues, has written animal protection legislation at the state and national level, has created successful No Kill programs in both urban and rural communities, and has consulted with a wide range of animal protection groups including some of the largest and best known in the nation.

Other guests during Chat Month will include Joan Miller, legislative analyst for the Cat Fanciers Association, and Karen Delise, author of “The Pit Bull Placebo.” More information and updates as they are announced, at this link:

http://www.pethobbyist.com/ChatMonth10.html

Hey Christie, weren’t you going to review “The Pit Bull Placebo” for Pet Connection?

***

By the way, the Element is still an awesome DogCar. This time I’m driving the 2008 SC, which is the sporty version, in a nifty sparkly root beer color. Manual transmission on the tester, which I like … or would have liked if holiday traffic hadn’t kept me on the freeway for more than four hours on the way home — it should be a two-hour trip. Folks, that’s a lot of shifting in stop-and-go traffic! On the other hand, the Element’s manual transmission is a kick in tight city traffic in downtown SF (but you’d better know what you’re doing to drive a stick on those hills in the neighborhood where Christie lives!)