Today is a very somber anniversary of my mother’s passing. Giuseppina Benenati Hayden was only 73 when she died of ovarian cancer. I’m so glad I was there to hold her hand. As per her wishes, we spread some of her ashes near the base where she met my US Coast Guard father in Italy. Next week we will spread some of her ashes near his ashes here in the Pacific, where my grandfather and his wife also had their ashes scattered. I was extremely close with my mother, as most people know, which makes me wonder how she would have reacted to all the good and horrible things that have happened in the last decade. I know she would be very proud that I bought a house, despite one of her sisters in Italy stealing the inheritance of my siblings and me. She would be proud that I’m in the best shape of my adult life (she was not shy about complaining about my health being affected by my weight) and she would be proud that I try to stay in touch with our family in Italy, even though I am overdue for a visit due to Covid, then my fire which required a lot of managing of my home’s renovation, etc.
Just before the fire, foster dogs Peanut(s) and Zorro, who are father and son, were living with me. They went to my neighbor, who needed me to take them for about a week, so they are back with the pack, including a couple of other dogs that we’re dogsitting for a few days, and a few other foster dogs. One has a promising meet and greet tomorrow, and another one was just confirmed to be transferred to Muttville in about ten days. That will bring the household down to a much more manageable number, but it’s pretty amazing how well the TWELVE dogs (including the four visiting dogs) that are here for a few days are getting along. This video is their first time back at the house after it was renovated. The father is now blind, but his glaucoma is managed with six drops a day and an oral medication. That means we have THREE blind dogs in the house at the moment.
I’m very touched by this gift I was unexpectedly sent for speaking at the 2026 Asian American Cancer & Diabetes Symposium earlier this year at City of Hope. I don’t know how the wonderful organizer knew my style, but this certainly fits in with my decor! What’s more is that this lights up with various lighting patterns as you can see in this little video Shea took!
This video of my new coworker Brandy was taken yesterday in my lanai, where I sometimes work. It was about 48 hours since we retrieved Brandy from the shelter and one day after she was supposed to be euthanized for a mild bite after she was tortured. I am so grateful for the donations to HSNB that are still coming in! These donations mean so much to us who have been volunteering there for years and who want to see our little no-kill shelter continue to save as many cat and dog lives as possible. People in Vallejo have been doing that through HSNB for four decades. This year is our 40th anniversary! I confess that’s when I graduated from high school in the East Bay. Gulp. We are working to align our budget for the next forty years. If you’re interested in our big gala with live music, please visit our website and save the date for our gala on October 10.
Last night Brandy seemed bewildered that I invited her to sleep on the bed with us. This poor girl probably thinks she doesn’t deserve such “luxury.” Everything she does, like a normal dog, is a thrill for me to witness, knowing the unspeakable things she went through and how close to death she was because of what I think amounts to a misunderstanding during the chaos of the Independence Day holiday.
I feel compelled to keep sharing the updates so that people see her progress. By the way, right after this video was shot, she let me get those last damned burrs out of her muzzle, so they are now gone for good! Next step is convincing her that a bath would be soothing! I’ll leave that to Shea who does most of the dog baths, which we try to do BEFORE grooming when possible.
Shea joined other constituents and me to meet with Assemblymember Lori Wilson’s staff in Suisun with the ACLU’s summer recess legislative advocacy group. We asked Lori Wilson and her staff to support three bills that would mitigate the harm that ICE has caused and to prevent voter suppression in several ways. SB1105, SB1164 and SB1360. Please chime in and tell your state legislators about these bills if you live in California! Here is the picture with us and Lori’s staff.
The next day we met with State Senator Christopher Cabaldon’s staff at his office in Vallejo to ask that the Senator support AB1165, AB2122, and AB1801. We also asked that he OPPOSE AB2664. California citizens, please tell your representatives to do the same!
Here’s Shea being silly with the rabbit statue in Assemblymember Suisun’s office.
While she still has her grumpy moments and things can become overwhelming for her, there are many flashes of the inner dog that just wants to be loved with Brandy. After 24 hours, she’s come a lot further than we anticipated, especially given how angry she was at us for even attempting to get to know her in her kennel at the Martinez CCAS shelter yesterday. I have zero regrets about sticking my nose into this and getting this little girl out. I wish we could save them all.
I normally concentrate on the dogs in my immediate region when it comes to who I will foster. Still, the story of this little senior dog that resembles a dog I lost in the fire really tugged at me. She was being tortured by some immature teens in Concord who were kicking her, made her bleed (I’m told) and who were trying to stick firecrackers up her butt on July 4 or 5. It was a story I could not ignore when I heard she was on the euthasia list for a NON-skin breaking bite after that whole ordeal and running into the street to get away from the torture. I saw that she would ONLY be released to another rescue or shelter, so I pulled my card as president of the Board of Humane Society of the North Bay and got her out of the Martinez CCAS shelter one day before she would have been euthanized. The outpouring of graciousness from people in that area who were trying to rescue her is very nice to see. I’ve asked people who want to donate on her behalf (she was previously known as Edna Bode or Mode, but I have renamed her Brandy) to give to our struggling shelter at HSNB, and I will foster her myself. I groomed her very carefully with Shea’s help. I still have a few burrs left to pull out, but she somehow let me groom her on the first day, even though she was understandably agitated when we first met her. I had the muzzle on for a second, but she was so tired that she basically fell into my arms and let me cuddle her by the time the grooming was done. I was exhausted myself. She’s already sort of a completely different dog, as you will see in pictures and videos. She is now an HSNB dog.
The first pictures and postings I saw of Brandy (formerly Edna Bode or Mode):
Picking her up from the shelter in Martinez.
Brandy’s first video at my house after she arrived from the Martinez shelter, still full of hundreds of burrs and not knowing when we’d be able to clean her up. She was excellent in the car, but confused and probably very suspicious. I left the leash on just in case I needed to guide her around, but she immediately got along with the other dogs. A few of them, like Ella, wanted to confront her, but she did not react AT ALL. I’m glad this video captures the countless burrs visible even on her tail and all of the staining and matts in that area. It was nerve-wracking, but little by little I was able to clean that all up.
Later in the day, we got to see a whole different side of Brandy. I find that with new dogs with recent trauma like she had, sitting down at their level helps to be less intimidating, taking off hats or glasses, and letting them come to me. I try to speak calmly around her and let her know she’s a good dog because hopefully somewhere in her long life she was treated with some love and kindness.
Shea and Karen bowhooked on Tuesday night’s practice in Richmond. Sophia the Seal (or her cousin) made an appearance, and there’s some cool footage of stunts by a paddleboarder. You can see Sutro Tower and the Golden Gate Bridge behind Angel Island from this view of the bay. I believe you can also see part of the Bay Bridge, Treasure Island, and other wonderful views.
Knowing my love for Tiffany-style lamps, my friend James Williams brought me this lampshade, which is still dramatically pretty even though it’s taken on some damage. He was hoping I could identify it as authentic and, either way, find a way to repurpose it. According to the AI research I did, I am thinking it is not authentic Tiffany, but I do still love it, and I found a place near my other Tiffany-style lamps that I think looks nice on this Filipino serving tray that I got last year. I will try to put some kind of light underneath it, but it doesn’t have a pedestal. For now, I think it’s safely placed and fits in with the decor organically, albeit uniquely.
I groomed my two girls, Bonnie and Saffron, by giving them their summer cuts, even though I probably said I gave them summer cuts earlier in the year. What can I say? We have long summers in California, thankfully.
I think they’ll appreciate it on the hottest days, even though they aren’t too keen on their feet getting so much attention. Shea helped me when they got restless, but they were good girls. I’m happy with the results.
This video was taken upside down, so I had to rotate it. It includes cameos from foster dogs Werner and Bella.
