Of dogs, dog adoptions and dog sweaters

the famous Sammie himself in his eponymous sweater!

Project-a-day Kate with Sammie

Tinto: " OH, please, knit me a Sammie Sweater"

Sammy: One of 2 Sammy/Sammie canine's in our fold!

Domino: He strayed into an SF firehouse and eventually Petra brought him home

Bella, adopted from the SF SPCA 2 years ago

Bettie, Nyla's dog

Toby and Franklin: Toby on the left just got adopted from Bay Area Poodle Rescue this week

Kofi, the knit-one-one dog from Bay Area Poodle Rescue--modelling the Sammie Sweater

For those of you who have perused the knit-one-one web site at any length, you will have noticed photos of Kofi here, there and everywhere. (Kofi is the little grey toy poodle)Let me tell you a little about him and other dogs in my life. I am a volunteer with Bay Area Poodle Rescue and Kofi was one of my foster dogs who just decided as soon as he walked into my apartment that he was going to stay! He had shown up on a door step in Northern California, soaking wet, shivering, skinny as a rail, and wearing a knitted sleeve-like garment. He ended up with the aforementioned Bay Area Poodle Rescue and thence to me., Kate one of our fabulous instructors, fell in love with Kofi and kind of thought that maybe some day she would like a little dog of her own. No sooner had she uttered those words aloud than I was "on it". Before I go further. I should say that Bay Area Poodle Rescue is a fabulous organization filled with great volunteers. For example, at the moment we are trying to find a home for another toy poodle. I am the lead volunteer on this dog, but I am being helped by Randi in Oakland, Chris in Belmont, Veronica in Palo Alto, Kim in Red Bluff and Roseann in Modesto---we are a far flung group of very dedicated dog lovers. But back to Kate and her words" Mmm... maybe I'd like a little dog of my own some day". As it turns out, Bay Area Poodle Rescue had just received word---via the incomparable Patty O--- of a little Schnoodle (Schnauzer/Poodle mix) who was looking for a home. I pounced! I showed Kate and her mother pictures and they fell for him immediately. And if you have read Kate's bio, you know Sammie is one lucky dog. Kate was knitting so many sweaters for her pooch that I leaned on her to teach a dog sweater class at knit-one-one. (I bribed her by calling it theSammie Sweater Class!) I make Kofi wear his sweater everyday----kind of like a walking billboard for the class--- I mean he has to earn his keep somehow. He looks a little glum when I put the sweater on, but he very quickly perks up. In fact he positively preens when people stop to admire him and the sweater! The great thing about the pattern Kate has chosen is that it has a gazillion sizes so no matter what the size of your dog, you will find a size that fits. Here in the Bay Area, people associate sweaters with little dogs but of course big dogs get cold too. Take my friend Catherine's whippet Tinto----he is always freezing and definitely needs a good warm gansey.

And no dog post would be complete without a mention of the fabulous Alison who has helped me train of all of the dogs in my life and has started a terrific new venture Metro Dog ----a great place for the dog in your life to spend the day, or the weekend, or the week, or.........yes Metro dog does boarding, day care, training and is an all-round huge asset to dog lovers in the Bay Area. Check it out.

And Kofi's haircut is courtesy of the magic hands of Lena, our groomer in Emeryville. But Lena not only grooms, trains, boards and advises on dog stuff, her studio has lots of buying opportunities too---cute dog toys, tote bags, cards, leashes---all in very good taste. One of her dogs,Benito, even has his own website! It is a great networking site for dog lovers.