a little help for our friends

my skinny friend Tiky and the dog-loving Canadian

I went out to the west coast last week. I wanted to check on a friend of mine I'd seen a couple of weeks ago. She wasn't looking very well when I saw her then. The photo above shows her lapping up some affection from a dog-loving woman from Canada. I think the woman was worried about her too.

My friend's situation is this: She belongs to a woman who spends a lot of time at Restaurante Castelejo. This woman has 16 dogs. They aren't completely free dogs, nor are they collared dogs. They're free to come and go but they choose to stay with the restaurante woman. And she cares for them more or less. Anyway, I went out again last week to see if I could do anything for my skinny friend but she wasn't there. Three of the other dogs were, but they didn't know where my friend was. One of the three there that day was Old-Man-Eyes, a dog I'd met a few years ago. She was pretty skinny then as you can see in these old pictures, and she had a couple of scabs from where ticks had been picked off, so she was looking a little worse for wear.

Old-Man-Eyes, 2008

Old-Man-Eyes, 2008

You can really see why she's called Old-Man-Eyes. She looks old and worn out by worry, but really she's only about six years old, and she doesn't do that much worrying. Her eyes grabbed me so much that I had to do a painting of her.

Old-Man-Eyes,acrylic on canvas, 20cm x 20cm

When I saw her last week she was actually looking quite healthy. She was even a little chubby.

Old-Man-Eyes looking good, 2011

She told me that life has been treating her well these days. I hope the same can be said for my other friend. Maybe I can get the dog-loving Canadian to help me check up on her. I'll be sure to post any updates on the situation.

Tchao-wow,
ruca

yoga for dogs

illustrated journal sketch - colour pencil

Gorda is a collared dog who wears no collar. She lives in Burgau. She likes yoga and fresh garbage. And not-so-fresh garbage. She is one very happy-go-lucky dog and will hang around with anyone (dog or human) who gives the slightest indication that her company would be welcome. Aren't we all like that in a way?

introducing Rita, my friend from the bookstore

Rita standing in front of her bookstore, Livros da Ria Formosa, Lagos

So I've mentioned my friend Rita a number of times already. I suppose I really should introduce her. She's a collared dog who lives with a very good man who has a bookstore in Lagos. She has a great influence on me. It's because of her that I'm doing this blog. She thinks it will help me to organize my thoughts a bit and possibly connect with others who might have common interests. "It's a big world out there. Poke your nose into it," she says. She encourages me to continue to explore various ways to be creative. She's a very well-read dog. She's a whiz on the internet. She comes up with so many ways to solve a problem or to work something out - I'm just in awe of her. I'm not really sure what she sees in me. I hope that I amuse her at least. I love to make her laugh. We just seem to really click. I never have a bone to pick with her - unless we're sharing a tasty pork chop of course.

She's a real beauty, but don't let that fool you. She's got the brains too!

I may be able to pursuade her to do a guest post occasionally, so keep your ears pricked for that!

Tchao-wow!