13 September

The One I Wanted To Bring Home

by Jon Katz
The One I Wanted
The One I Wanted

Three dogs is the right number for Maria and I, we both agreed that for us more than three is too much, the dynamics of the pack change and we end up spending too little time with each of them. Other people love more than that, and I understand that. I got a long tour of the Silicon Valley Humane Society and I saw a lot of wonderful animals, but only one that I wanted to take home, that was this sweet and beautiful puppy, a slightly manic but very affectionate terrier of some indeterminate kind.

The shelter workers said they could give us a carrier to take on the plane and we could bring her home. I wanted to but Maria reminded me of my own philosophy and preferences – we have plenty of animals on the farm. Still, she got to me and I would have taken her home if I could have. Attachment theory if wonderful and mysterious, I have never owned a small dog and never wanted one, and I have to think long and hard about why this one reached me, but a part of that attachment is knowable and a part is not. The shelter staff assured me she would be adopted but I kept coming back to her and we were definitely connected. I’ll check on her.

She likes the camera as well, no small consideration.

13 September

The Silicon Valley Animal Shelter

by Jon Katz
Hard Place To Work
Hard Place To Work

Shelter work is a calling, I do not believe I could handle it or withstand the temptations to bring a lot of animals home. I was assured that this kitten would be adopted, I expect that is true. The men and women I met at the shelter were passionately committed to their work, to saving, protecting, healing and re-homing animals.

13 September

At The Silicon Valley Humane Society

by Jon Katz
Radical Departure
Radical Departure

I’ve never seen an animal shelter anything like the Silicon Valley Humane Society. For one thing, the building is striking, a sprawling $27 million facility that was nine years in the making, and it was carefully designed to be unlike any other animal shelter. The building looks like a modern airport terminal, it is bright and sprawling and quiet.

TheĀ  dogs all have private rooms, soothing music is piped in and the windows are covered in blues so the dogs don’t see one another and bar. The shelter is pioneering a scores of community programs that are advancing the notion of a shelter that does a lot more than rescue, house and protect animals. The center offers training and education programs and is a community animal facility, not just a shelter. I’ll write more about this in the coming days. I was excited to see it, it is radically different from any other shelter I have seen.

13 September

Spoiled Rotten In The Golden Land

by Jon Katz
Spoiled Rotten In The Golden Land
Spoiled Rotten In The Golden Land

We were spoiled rotten in the Golden Land. Sue and John Diekman, passionate supporters of the Silicon Valley Humane Society, invited me to speak, invited Maria to come as well and they put us up in their beautiful guest cottage – it is roughly the size of our farmhouse, and much cleaner and neater. The stocked the refrigerator with wonderful food and drink, took us out to a wonderful Asian meal and drove us to and from the events. There was a private catered dinner with major donors out in the hills outside of Palo Alto.

We had some spare time and lounged by the pool, read a bit, and got to walk Sue and John’s dogs, Lucky and Rosie.

I am allergic to name dropping, I never do it, I won’t now, but I had an intimate dinner with some jaw-dropping famous names in the tech industry and other fields. Money does not especially impress me, perhaps because I don’t have any, but these were impressive people, men and women who helped build the tech industry and the Silicon Valley boom, pioneers in technology. I gave a talk about one of my favorite subjects, attachment theory and I talked about Frieda and my life at Bedlam Farm. At least one of my dinner partners is considering a major gift to the Humane Society andĀ  I hope he does, it is a remarkable place.

13 September

Home From The Promised Land, A Radical New Shelter Idea

by Jon Katz
A Radical New Shelter Idea
A Radical New Shelter Idea

We got home just after dusk, a 12-hour journey from the Golden Land, Northern California. It is not easy to schedule flights out of Albany. I took this photo in Chicago’s O’Hare and it spoke to me of the curious irony of airports, throngs of people, yet a sense of individual isolation amidst all of the machinery. We were staying with some wonderfully gracious people in Atherton, California, a history and beautiful town currently being overrun by young Google, Apple, Facebook and Twitter millionaires, scions of a so-called green and sustainable culture that tears down modern liveable homes most people would love to own and replaces them with lavish McMansions. The Palo Alto area is not in a recession, middle-class people are simple gone.

California is still a beautiful and Golden Land to me but also one that is crowded, shockingly expensive, traffic-clogged and running out of water. I was shocked, mesmerized by the Silicon Valley Human Society which invited me to come and speak at a donor gathering. I’m going to write about this striking and radically interesting new facility – it cost $27 million dollars. The SVHS is re-inventing the very idea of the shelter and it was exciting to see, I’ll be writing about it over the next few days.

We were given a beautiful guest cottage and we met with donors and supporters of the SVHS, walked all over Atherton, were wined and dined on fabulous food, quite spoiled. Still we were very happy to get home to Simon’s bray and are our very excited dogs. The weather in California was gorgeous, upstate it has been raining all week. In the morning I’m teaching my “Art Of The Blog” course at the Hubbard Hall Arts Center. I’m a little groggy but psyched. Photos and text on all of this to come.

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