My daughter, Alexandra Hayden, whose pen name is Alex Wolf, was featured several years ago on Forbes’ “30 under 30” list of people to watch out for, which was wonderful as she was listed with Lin-Manuel Miranda, among others. Now, after having just become 31 last April, she made the Black Enterprise “40 under 40” list of people to watch out for!
Just over two years ago we got a call from our veterinarian who was upset that she was asked to put down a blind, diabetic dog in a nearby town just because his guardian got tired of him. He was only NINE years old. When he first arrived, he was calm but kind of a mess. His blood sugar was all over the place so we had to do some testing to determine what he would need and get the supplies. We literally had to put a diaper on him because he had uncontrolled urination from his unchecked diabetes and of course, he wasn’t familiar with the layout of our house.
We got him on a steady regiment of long-acting insulin and he rarely flinches when we administer it to him when he eats. He has grown into an integral part of our family and is PERFECTLY house-trained. He has a great appetite and obediently sits for his treats, knows his NEW name Snowball, and has amazing hearing, detecting our cars and gates before anyone else. Not only does he know the layout of our entire house and yard, but he is always clean and extremely patient when I groom him. He slimmed down long ago because of his improved diet and exercise. His fur is never stained with urine and of course, we never keep him in a crate, which had only set him up to fail at his previous home. I’m so happy that he’s thriving at 12 today, even though he did recently get diagnosed with glaucoma on top of his pre-existing blindness, so we also have to give him eye drops to decrease the eye pressure and make sure he’s not in any pain. He regularly shares his bed with other dogs and he’s a handsome devil. When we were asked last year to take in another blind dog from the same veterinarian, we didn’t hesitate, so now we have Snowball and Matty, and they are both amazing.
Happy birthday Snowball!
I cannot help but speak out about the escalating homophobia in my mother’s home country of Italy (and where some of my father’s ancestors are from). The aspiring fascist prime minister there is trying to earn political points by stripping away lesbian mothers of their rights and legally breaking apart families. As a Board alum of six years, I reached out to FamilyEquality.org with my outrage as an Italo-American still eligible for dual citizenship and how this is clearly violative of the European Union’s higher courts, which I hope step in. Giorgia Meloni is making examples of some lesbian mothers by literally removing their names from birth certificates based on the non-biological ties to their own children. Now they are working on criminalizing surrogacy, just to round out the homophobia.
I constantly remind people that the equivalent of Italy’s founding fathers are both GAY – Leonardo Da Vinci and Michaelangelo, not to mention countless other Renaissance pillars, popes, etc.
This is exactly the kind of underhanded bigotry that we are still fighting against in what should be a modern world. As a gay parent, I am appalled, but very pleased that Family Equality Executive Director Stacey Stevenson replied to my pleas for the organization to make an official statement, which they have now done. This is a perfect response to these troubling developments:
Soon after prime minister Giorgia Meloni issued a public order removing the names of nonbiological LGBTQ+ parents from their children’s birth certificates, the Italian parliament approved a bill that criminalized surrogacy abroad.
Washington, D.C. — Family Equality, the leading national organization for current and future LGBTQ+ families in America, condemns recent actions taken by the Italian government to undermine and diminish the rights of LGBTQ+ parents and families, including removing nonbiological LGBTQ+ parents from birth certificates and, more recently, approving a bill that would criminalize surrogacy abroad.
With surrogacy and other reproductive medical treatments like IVF already prohibited for LGBTQ+ couples in Italy, this legislation not only denies LGBTQ+ people the opportunity to start their family — it threatens to put prospective parents in jail for even trying. The measure, which passed in the chamber of deputies with 166 votes in support, needs approval by the Italian senate before being passed into law.
“Everyone deserves the opportunity to experience the unconditional joy and belonging of family, no matter who you love or where you live,” said Family Equality CEO, Stacey Stevenson. “What we’re seeing from the top elected officials in Italy is unconscionable. And yet, these actions reflect what we’re seeing outside our own front door, as politicians and pundits alike spout dangerous anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric instead of focusing on passing legislation that keeps us all safe, healthy, and protected. To the LGBTQ+ families in Italy, know that we stand in solidarity with you and will fight with our partners in this international community to preserve your fundamental right to find and form family.”
Our own backyard garden continues to amaze me. Among the bamboo “forest” near our upstairs lookout, I found this purple flower on a non-bamboo plant. Further into the thicket, I came across this old tree stump I almost forgot about in the three years since we moved in, but now I see it’s covered with mycelia.
This is Ronaldo nka Rico when he was HSNB’s Pet of the Week! I love that he has ear-flop!
William and Carlos live right near us and found out that we were fostering a dog from the HSNB.org shelter that Shando and I volunteer with. We are so happy that Rico found a permanent home with them, especially since we’ll periodically get to watch young Rico grow with their family. This is what we call a foster success (because a foster “fail” is when we end up adopting a dog ourselves)!
Rico is an extra special case. The shelter was told after having a hard time reaching Rico’s guardians to remind them that he was due for a vaccine, that he had been struck and killed by a car. Then we got a call from the shelter in Sacramento when his microchip showed up! He came back to our shelter and I found out about it and asked to be an emergency foster.
What’s more, is that HSNB’s Cuddle Cub had Rico go around Vallejo to various senior living facilities and he was a hit. Not only that, he was at an adoption event that Shando and I attended this past February as you can see documented here on this website, and that is when we originally met him. So other volunteers at the shelter and I already had an established relationship with this little guy.
Monte (Montague) the O.G. D.O.G.
Cappy (Capulet) with her Stimpy-like tongue.
Polar looking like a white Chewbacca when the wind blows in his hair.
Peaches cooperated when I asked her to pose on my new little bridge!
Snoopy
Snowball
Pancho (so Zen)
Timber
Matty
Group Shots
Foster Ronaldo
Our neighbors and friends, William and Patrick, both of whom I had known for years before moving to Vallejo, invited us over to their fabulous place. William graciously offered to give me a bunch of clippings soon too!
With dogs:
At home:
Out and about:
