Eugenie, Tanner and I were in Santa Barbara this past February, when we met a lovely woman named Jo Hartman, who volunteers at the Central Coast SPCA. Here’s a link to a story in the Santa Maria Times about her and her late rescue St. Bernard, Dover. Her work with him goes to show how love and patience can change a throw-away dog into a life saver. Way to go, Jo.
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| Jo Hartman and ‘Dover’ |
Last year Tanner proved to be a wiz at handicapping the Oscars; albeit his method was sketchy, he tabbed the Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor nods, along with a slew of other winners. Given his track record, Eugenie and I decided to let him offer his thoughts on this year’s races.
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| Tanner & Lou on State Street, Santa Barbara, 2/18/13 |
In the Best Picture category, we didn’t see three of the nominees – Beasts of The Southern Wild, Django Unchained and Life of Pi (Lou’s fault since Eugenie and I were bugging him to get the screeners). Of the other six, Les Miz was overly long with uneven singing and a plot that jumps from a riveting ‘A’ story (Jean Valjean v Javert) to sappy, with the love at first sight between Marius (a rich frat boy slumming as a revolutionary) and Cosette. It’s a bit of a downer, but nothing compared to Amour, which made me want to run into traffic (Remember, I’m a dog and seppuku isn’t an option). We all found it sheer torture and it left us wondering how in the heck these two snooze fests get nominated when the bubbly, brilliant Intouchables came away with bubkes. But I digress.
We were desperate for a Valentines getaway but February 14 is also Tanner’s birthday, and we didn’t want to leave him behind. Nobody actually knows when he was born, a fact that drives my astrology-minded wife crazy, so we decided to celebrate our Pit Bull baby on Valentines Day, the same as his pop. We discussed Palm Springs and San Diego but finally opted for Santa Barbara. Finding a place that accepts dogs isn’t easy. Most hotels and motels don’t and many of the ones that do charge a hefty fee. Why? For the same reason Tanner chews his tail, because they can.
Solvang’s a quaint (cheesy?) Danish village that’s also super dog friendly. Once a year, in late February, they host a Greyhound Fest in which town opens its doors to a swarm of sweet, speedy rescue dogs. We spent the afternoon shopping (the pet store and the Sock Guy got the bulk of our coin), then we took the birthday boy out to diner at Root 246, one of our favorites. The three of us ate outdoors, on the patio by the fire pit. Then we made the harrowing drive back.
a tradition from our New York City period when we owned a wonderful Irish Setter and the Dalmation from Hell. Ironically, both breeds were represented in this year’s Best In Show round. Tanner’s an American Staffordshire Terrier so we were hoping the AmStaff might win the Terrier Group but no dice. Maybe next year. Tanner was torn. The finalists included a German Shepherd, like Tanner’s girlfriend Lola, and a sexy Doberman named Fifi. Eugenie and weren’t; we were rooting for the Irish Setter ‘momma’ that had recently given birth to 15 puppies.
Louis Spirito 