cici’s got a friend…

at the sea foam lodge in Little River… a very affordable place to stay across from the ocean… it is soooo great for cici to have a friend to play with…

we stayed in #6 at sea foam lodge, cici reunited with her pal lucy the boxer mix, next door was the tiniest dog and next door to them a black lab,and there were several other dogs, too, this is doggie heaven with a bunch of trees and trails behind the buildings…. our room had a queen bed and trundle bed, plus two huge credenzas with drawers, a table for dining, microwave, internet wireless access, television, vcr, with free videos to choose from, coffeemaker and a porch looking out over the glistening sun on the ocean… and the grassy lawn which is wonderful for dogs to play on…

this is a very pet friendly lodge, eight buildings, 22 of the 24 rooms are pet friendly… cici’s friend lucy is the official greeter, she is a boxer mix…

Innkeepers mother Jackie and daughter Kathy have owned the lodge for 12 years, the Sea Foam was named after a Steamship SS Sea Foam…

each morning, there is a piping hot muffin basket with orange juice for continental breakfast delivered straight to the door….

great for couples looking for a quiet getaway, families and pet owners who want to hike, kayak and beach…

critters karma…

there is a lot of talk about whether animals have emotions and feelings as we humans do these day… and some people wonder if pets have souls. No matter what you believe or question, it is good to keep an open mind… this is a controversial topic but heck, so are many that I write about so here goes…

Remember, the TV show featuring Mr. Ed the talking horse? How about Dr. Dolittle who talked to animals? As a society, we seem to think, our consensus reality, is that it is farfetched and something to laugh about to think that animals can actually talk. Yet, our animals talk to us all of the time. And sometimes we pay attention and receive their love and blessings. And other times, we ignore the messages (whispers) until they become louder (shouts).

Perhaps you have met a dog or cat or horse or another animal and instantly felt a connection, or an animal adopted you, or showed up in your life at an interesting moment, or you just ‘knew’ that the pet was yours. At times, we have these meetings with people in our lives, why not with pets? Maybe pets are spiritual beings and are in our lives to help us grow.

As someone who has experienced several pet past life experiences (will explain more in a moment), and if you believe that humans reincarnate, is it much of a stretch to imagine that pets do also?

Years ago, a dog of a friend I hardly knew came to me in a dream. The next day I found out that he had died. Why he chose to come through to me with a message, I am not sure.

Years later, after my Abundance cat ran away, he came to me in a dream and slept on my belly as he used to do every day at 4pm. It was his way of telling me that he had passed on in this life. The significance of my connection with Abundance not only had to do with him, but also another past life with a beloved cat. I have been grieving the loss of that cat for decades and did not know about it until Abundance reminded me. It was through his loving countenance that I found out. I am still in the process of working through this experience, it was a biggie for me because it relates to my spirituality and relationships, and important for me to heal this lifetime. Sometimes it takes time to heal past lives and other issues in our lives.

Our Souls know us and all of our past lives (and future ones) and know what works best to help us heal, even if it might seem wrong or not fair or too painful. Animals often mirror or pick up our feelings and act them out for us. And sometimes, we don’t like what we see either in other humans or our animals and point the finger and blame them!

We want to believe that it’s the dog’s fault or the cat has ‘behavioral problems’ or issues. And they may, but what might you learn from your sweet furry friends? Sure, we can train our pets, pamper and worry about them. If your dog or cat or horse or bird could talk, wonder what they want to tell you? If you’d truly like to know, you can schedule a session with me and I’d be happy to chat with you, pass on messages with you and your pet(s) and/or passed over loved ones. It is a blessing to be able to communicate with animals and special people. A healing for all concerned.

the birds fly over Jenner…

did you know that Alfred Hitchcock filmed some of the movie the Birds in Jenner and the crows were flown in by helicopters? Tippi Hedrin, the leading lady star of the movie visits Bodega Bay at least once a year and she is a pet lover and animal activist. She founded the Shambala Preserve in Acton, Calif for wild cats and is open to the public one weekend a month. There are more than 177 types of birds in the area including Osprey and numerous places to bird watch including trails. Dogs are not allowed on most trails.

Film locations of the movie The Birds in Bodega Bay include Bay Hill Road, Potter School House, six miles south of Bodega behind St. Theresa’s Church, Taylor Street, Tides Wharf restaurant and boat dock, and Brenner House at the end of the film.

The Jenner Inn where we stayed is a very quaint, romantic and historic location… The rooms at the Jenner Inn are named for the Jenner men, Captain Will, Charles, Elijah (one of them was a writer) and other rooms are named for birds and a madame.

the six pet rooms (there are 21 rooms total) all have porches and several offer easy access to a big meadow where dogs can explore, run around and sniff… the meadow has a creek and meditation spots. the pet friendly rooms include the Tree House, Fanny Jewell, Lookout and Hideaway, two bedroom rental homes with private hot tubs, fireplaces and satellite TV, Captain Will’s and the Mill Cottage. There is a pet fee of $35 per dog and pet amenities include treats and waste bags.

we stayed at the Captain Will’s suite, a cottage with kitchen and living room and bedroom, fireplace and its own porch with a lovely view of the river… there is TV and internet access, lovely antiques, and a loft with ladder for kids. there also is a computer in the parlor in the main house…

down the Highway, a few miles is Goat Rock beach, part of which, 2-1/2 miles, is supposed to be dog friendly but we could not access it (blind beach) because of the BIG HUGE ROCKS plus there was a sign that said that it was one of the most dangerous beaches, daunting, the other part of the beach is not open to dogs because of the seals who are having seal pups right now. Jenner’s visitor center is open two days a week and is run by volunteers of an environmental group.

Afternoon tea offers delightful scones and coffee and tea. A vegetarian breakfast is served at the restaurant in the morning with scrambled eggs, scones or muffins, tea, coffee, and fruits.

Weddings, retreats, and workshops happen at the Inn and returning guests. One couple stayed at the Inn on their honeymoon.

There is a gas station and market next door to the Jenner Inn, a cafe across the street as well as a dog friendly shop with crystals, fun educational games/toys for kids and crystals, sea shells and other gifts plus hand lotions and massage oils. The owner, Joel Martin, has also been in the area for 30 years.

Pooch friendly restaurants in Bodega include The Boat House, with the yummiest fish and chips ever, Road House Coffee, Brisas Del Mar, Spud Point Crab Co., Lucas Wharf, Island Deli, The Dog House, and Captain Daveys…

a few miles away from Jenner is the town of Duncan Mills which offers a bunch of dog friendly stores and a wine and cheese shop (tastings cost money and the people although they allow dogs did not give treats nor seem particularly human friendly)… some fun shops included Jim and Willies (with a cute dog named Willie), Pig Alley, Weavers and Dreamers (with very lifelike stuffed dogs, even a Dalmatian, so cute and most importantly, treats for dogs), Studio Nouveau (scrumptious chocolate), Horse and Butterfly tea shop, Worldly Goods (on site dog sometimes there), some antique stores, and more.

And a few more miles down the road is the town of Monte Rio which has a dog beach, and two guys that spin dog and other hair into yarns and make hats and other items for sale.

dog meets skateboard at the post office…

We were enjoying Bodega Bay (Duncan Mills and Jenner, will post about soon) until we got kicked out of the Pomo campground because they don’t allow DOGS IN THE WILD, not kidding… she was not allowed either in the car or in the tent… and since it is a busy holiday weekend, no other campgrounds were open… grrrowwl… people we have to DO something about these insane dog laws…

hanging out in Bodega at the post office…

Cici contemplating a skateboard… (ho hum, can we go do something FUN NOW?)

sniffing a skateboard…

skateboard, it’s what’s for dinner…

lodi dog friendly

We have never encountered an inn with a winery tasting room on site before, until we came to Lodi. I had driven through Lodi before but never stopped to visit … didn’t seem like much of a place but boy I was wrong… there is even a Panera’s bakery… yay…

Renae, the owner has several dogs including Yorkies. Lorissa, the innkeeper, gave Cici steak and potatoes plus some leftovers, yum. Cici also got to roam free and played with three dogs, an on site rat terrier named Dude, and Lorissa’s two dogs, a Canadian retriever (looks like a small Golden) named Jake and her buddy Callie the lab… Cici always tries to take sticks and balls away from other dogs but Callie did not let her get away with that. Cici got a bath and a swim in the pond, although it was a bit rocky for her.

The pond view was straight outside the blue room where we stayed, furnished with faux quilt and denim, a tv, fireplace, desk, and overhead fan… the bathroom was across the hallway not part of the room… there is a real kitchen in the house with four other rooms… two are dog friendly… a gorgeous romantic suite for couples, a lovely living and dining room… plus the wine tasting room across from the inn.., the Vino Con Brio Winery…

http://www.amorosainn.com/

Downtown historic Lodi had a bunch of shops, including a health food store, no pet shops. The Wine and Visitor’s Center told me that there were no dog friendly wineries in Lodi but obviously they were wrong. Guests at the Amorosa told me that Michael and David have a farm cafe and D’Art also are supposed to be dog friendly. Check them out…

dog mansions and pooch food banks…

these two realities exist side by side in our current time… people who spend extravagantly and those who help others in need… can’t help but think what if the owners of the pooch palaces were to give to others as extravagantly as they do to their pooches, this economic recession could be over tomorrow… hmmmm….

thanks to Guy Kawasaki’s tweet, which linked to womans day magazine feature, which shows a french chateau, mexican hacienda and other doggie palaces for pampered pooches…

http://www.womansday.com/Articles/Family-Lifestyle/Pets/Extreme-Dog-Houses.html

kudos to K9 cuisine’s donation to pet food bank …

http://www.dogchannel.com/dog-news/2009/05/16/website-foundation-donate-to-dog-food-bank.aspx

healing power of Oprah…

don’t know if you had a chance to watch Oprah yesterday, she had an animal show, with a bear, a hypo, who lives with a family, as well as puppies trained for Iraq vets by prisoners with Glenn Close reporting on the latter story… very touching… at the end, she had a bunch of people with their pets, snakes birds, rabbits, dogs and cats all on stage… a little much… but the hypo and bear stories plus the puppies were pretty amazing and wonderful…

http://www.puppiesbehindbars.com/index.asp

fun places to shop with your pooch…

Top 7 Chain Stores

Some of these chain stores in various cities welcome dogs, others don’t, check first.

Apple
Big 5
Borders
Home Depot
Lowe’s
Office Depot
Orchard Hardware Supplies

Some Outlet stores are good, too…

If your dog is as tail wagging friendly as Cici, they will enjoy being the doggie welcoming committee…

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alegria275/295688323/

and if your dog is yearning to buy new shoes… you just might wanna take her to the local Payless or other shoe store… 🙂

people who need people… pets who need people…

as Barbra Streisand sang, People,
People who need people
Are the luckiest people in the world…

(not sure what these words mean exactly, if you need people why does that make you lucky? if you need people, that means you depend upon people? if you depend upon people, you are in trouble these days as far as I can see…

but if the Brits can aid pet owners, what about Americans? I have been thinking about this now for awhile, since Katrina happened and 911 I guess I grew up in a neighborhood in New York, yes, that is right, New York city, the suburbs, ok, but where people took care of one another… If a neighbor got hurt, in trouble or needed help in any way, the neighbors pitched in… sometimes, it was too much… the nosy neighbors had to know everyone else’s business… but it was an unspoken rule, the way it was… and many of the people I grew up with are still in the same old neighborhood… so neighbors were like family… and you take care of family. No matter what. Even if you didn’t like them.

Now admittedly, when we’d go into Manhattan it was a different ballgame. People would walk over alcoholics lying in the gutter or ignore crazy people. And so on.

but in LA, where I lived as a twenty year old and other places in California and Nevada, people don’t know their neighbors and treat people like New Yorkers did in Manhattan… don’t know how it is now in the city since 911 happened and people are different (everyone found God I heard)…

anyway, we are here on this planet together… and sure pets need owners and owners need pets AND people need people… we are in this life together…

http://www.dogmagazine.net/archives/2437/recession-hit-pet-owners-offered-help-inc-video-review/

jump in the lake: puts new meaning into the words dog rescue

would you risk your life to save your dog? this article made me cry… really heart touching moving… this very brave and loving woman jumped into a very cold lake in Chicago to save her very sweet dog…

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-dog-rescue-06-may06,0,6421432.story