The Dogs of San Francisco

Double Dog Day: Doc and Dolly the Snoozy Bloodhounds

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Adam Lang

These two are vital employees of Russian Hill Upholstery and Decor, a shop near where Autumn and I live (on Polk near Jackson). They may to the casual eye appear to be sleeping, but don’t be fooled: they are actually deep in thought about their next spectacular, award-winning interior decoration masterpiece!

(I have been meaning to post these two for ages, but I have had a terrible time trying to get the color balance right on these images. In the end, I’ve just given up. They look totally different, you’ll just have to live with it.)

That level of concentration is hard for mere human beings to achieve.

There's nothing that can relax like a saggy-faced dog.

Perhaps we could call this position "a pile of bloodhound". Also, yes, that's Autumn in the background.

Posted in Dog of the Day | Tagged American Bloodhound, Nob Hill, Polk Street | Leave a comment

Dog of the Day: Duke the Siberian Husky

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Adam Lang

Why are huskies always so happy to see you?

Siberian Huskies: gleefully straddling the line between joyful and maniacal for thousands of years.

The pink stripe on the nose is really something else. Bet he gets sunburn easy though.

I have my camera set to take three frames per second. I got exactly two frames of him not grinning like a madman. Which is to say, 2/3 of a second.

The mysterious black box in the background is a concertina I was returning to its owner.

Posted in Dog of the Day | Tagged Near Home, Nob Hill, Siberian Husky | Leave a comment

Roll of 28(+1) Day 19: McTeague’s

Posted on February 19, 2012 by Adam Lang

McTeague’s pub, on Polk Street, has a unique sign.

Giant Gold Tooth Outside of McTeague's Tavern

No, that is not a golden cow's udder. That is a giant gold tooth.

Posted in Roll of 28 | Tagged Cityscape, Polk Gulch, Polk Street, Tenderloin | Leave a comment

Dog of the Day: German Shepherd and Friends

Posted on February 19, 2012 by Adam Lang

I love this guy! He wanted to play with everyone, was gentle with all the smaller dogs, and did a ridiculous mount of gallumphing around. He did kind of hog the ball, but to be fair, it was his ball.

I’m not sure he’s 100% German shepherd, but I’m at a loss as to what he might be mixed with. He could just be oddly-marked.

Edit: According to a reliable authority (in the comments) this coloration is the ‘sable’ version of the German shepherd. Thanks, Steph!

He looks kind of hesitant here. I assure you, this was not the case.

Those bonds which henceforth dog and ball hath joined, let no man put asunder.

Gutsy Jack Russell wants in on the action.

The Jack Russell was a little more aggressive than he needed to be, but the German shepherd just laughed it all off.

Is anyone else reminded of Mystery Science Theatre 3000?

He ran up, sniffed my jacket and backpack, and then lay down next to them. I like you too, puppydog!

I think that might be my favorite water fountain ever. One spout for adults, one for kids, and one for dogs. And it's pretty to boot.

A new challenger appears!

Posted in Dog of the Day | Tagged German Shepherd, Lafayette Park, Pacific Heights | 2 Comments

Roll of 28(+1) Day 18: Draco Dracorum

Posted on February 18, 2012 by Adam Lang

Went to a little get-together that was instigated by a cousin of mine. The host was an artist, a sculptor who makes animals out of wood. Mostly real animals, large although perhaps not quite one-to-one scale. But occasionally he makes more fanciful things as well.

He's kind of cute, really.

Posted in Roll of 28 | Tagged Art, Sunset | Leave a comment

Caturday Supplement: …what? He has whiskers!

Posted on February 18, 2012 by Adam Lang

As I said, Caturday is my day for ‘not dogs’. This guy might be a sea-dog, but he’s definitely not a dog-dog.

I was down on a pier in the SF Bay, and there were some people crabbing off the pier. Throwing a crab pot with a dead chicken into the water and waiting a while, then pulling it back out and seeing what they found. This guy caught a whiff of their chicken, and came over to say hi.

They were worried that this guy would take off with their crab pot. Can't blame them... if he grabbed it, I doubt they'd get it back in one piece. And certainly not with the chicken.

They figured out a system: when they wanted to drop or raise the crab pot, one of them would wave and make noise and run down the edge of the pier. And the sea lion would follow. It was pretty adorable, actually.

Posted in Caturday Supplement | Tagged Fisherman's Wharf, Sea Lions | Leave a comment

Roll of 28(+1) Day 17: Chilly Pup

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Adam Lang

Was rushing around for a lot of the day, and didn’t take many pictures. But I did find this pup chilling outside of a pub. Apparently he was a little chilly while chilling, because at least two people left their jackets draped over him.

Never really thought about it, but that's a definite disadvantage of pit bulls in SF: super-short fur. It doesn't get FREEZING, but it can get chilly.

Posted in Roll of 28 | Tagged American Pit Bull Terrier, SOMA | Leave a comment

Dog of the Day: Murphy the Rhodesian Ridgeback

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Adam Lang

Ugh. I have a sore throat and a nasty headache, and this on the evening of a long weekend. I had BETTER not get sick. This has messed up my plans enough. I am going to go to bed.

So, a short post for today. I recently found a cache of pictures that I had accidentally put in the wrong folder, including a number of pretty good ones, from last summer. Murphy was in there. At the time, he was a 10-year-old Rhodesian ridgeback, and as I seem to recall, he wasn’t doing so hot. I sure hope things got better for him.

God, Rhodesians are such gorgeous dogs.

You just want to give him a big hug and tell him everything will be all right.

Posted in Dog of the Day | Tagged Fillmore, Pacific Heights, Rhodesian Ridgeback | Leave a comment

Roll of 28(+1) Day 16: The Anytime Retriever

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Adam Lang

There’s a new dry-cleaner’s near my workplace that has this on the side of the building. I guess it’s not quite ready for prime time yet, but I think it’s awesome. Who wouldn’t like to be able to stop by at 7 PM on a Sunday and pick up their dry cleaning? Or, for that matter, at 4 AM, if you need to?