Some highlights from the weekly report of North Beach/Chinatown/Fish Wharf crime: Monty games are back, a guy discovered a car thiefin his car, and… dog-napping, interrupted. Oh, and … it’s all about the Uniform.

” The victim opened his trunk on the 1300 block of Jones when he noticed a suspect inside his vehicle. He chased the suspect to Jackson and Jones where he waited for police to arrive. The suspect was arrested while attempting to hide under a parked vehicle. ”

Oh that’s another smart criminal.. hide under a car. no one will see you! Ha ha.
(more…)

Whoa, they found a marmoset on the Peninsula earlier this week! Marmosets are native to Central and South America, so it is unusual to find one of these creatures here in the Bay Area.

The story of the discovery of the tiny primate ( and I mean *TINY*… he was mistaken for a squirrel!) is pretty amusing:

[Andrew] Padilla and his roommates ended up phoning the SPCA to report a stray monkey running across the back fence.

“We thought, ‘Sure. What have you been drinking?’ But when our officer arrived, there he was,” said Scott Delucchi, spokesman for the animal care agency.

Officer Brian Schenck, armed with a banana provided by the startled resident, was able to coax the marmoset into custody.

(quoted from SFGate)

No one seems to know where he came from, perhaps a lost pet or research animal? Padilla reports the animal to be very friendly, so assumptions are that he was somewhat domesticated. Regardless, plans are to send the furry little creature to a primate sanctuary in Texas.

Image from Peninsula Humane Society/SPCA

I can count on one hand the number of times I have seen a dog walker with this many dogs in the South Bay. This must be some huge problem in San Francisco though, because the city wants to allow only 6 dogs at a time on the walks. The walkers will need to be licensed, insured and bonded. When the animals are transported in a vehicle, it should be ventilated and the proper restraints must be used. If the new requirements are approved, dog owners will ultimately see these extra costs passed along to them.

Guinness the adorable Daschund nestled in some doggy clothes at my favorite pet store in the city: Babies, where not only do they sell the best pet stuff in San Francisco with the least attitude, they also don’t mind if you make photos in the shop (which is sure-fire way to my heart). If you live in San Francisco and have a 4-legged friend, give them a look. They’re in Hayes Valley (235 Gough Street). Tell Guinness I said hi.

Unfortunately, after Easter has come and gone hundreds of rapidly-maturing chicks and bunnies are abandoned at the SFSPCA, or dumped in our local parks where their chances of survival are practically zero. I can only assume that it’s the well-meaning Pac Heights families and loft-dwelling yuppies that give their kids fuzzy bunnies and chicklets on easter sunday when they should stick to chocolate animals — especially when we have so many fine chocolatiers in town, like Joseph Schmidt who this year has a to-die-for Bunny Box and a jillion easter baskets.

But if you must give a bun for easter, know that rabbits make excellent pets but you can’t just stick a rabbit in a little hutch with a few carrots and greens in your loft and let it go at that. They need more care and attention than many people realize, and they are not good companion animals for young children — plus they live from 7-10 years so it’s more of a commitment than most think. This is why Save A Bunny: the San Francisco/Marin House Rabbit Society is trying to drive awareness about buns and the lifestyles they need to thrive — and to hopefully avoid the bunnies becoming springtime cat food for all the abandoned cats in GG Park, while the SFSPCA’s bunny pens overfloweth, literally.

Actually, Lola is the sweet little girl on the right who arrived at the SFSPCA March 25 and is currently up for adoption. According to Lola’s bio, she’s chatty and chirpy, but details are fuzzy about her turbulent showgirl past. I’ve long considered volunteering at the SPCA to spend much-needed human time with the kitties that get ditched there, but what holds me back is the very real possibility that I’d wind up a crazy cat lady (not to be confused with crazy blogger lady).

I was super-stoked to find out that at our SPCA, the cats and dogs don’t languish in cold kennels but instead spend their time waiting for a new home at the experimental-concept Maddie’s Pet Adoption Center on Florida Street. Here, “Dogs on Lassie Lane live in typical San Francisco Victorian and Spanish style apartments. Natural light streams from windows and skylights and toys and TVs offer entertainment and stimulation. Cats have private condos come equipped with perches for sunning, trees for climbing and couches for snoozing. They also have toys, TVs, aquariums and picture windows so they can watch the birds outside.”

This sounds way better that Al Gore’s condo downtown in St. Regis Tower. Not to be outdone by the St. Regis’ butler service and lap pools, the SFSPCA is launching new kitty classes starting April 15, including “Entertaining Indoor Cats”, “Keeping the Peace in a Multi-Cat Household”, and “Thinking Inside the Box” (a class on litterbox issues). So do it — you know you want to cha-cha with Lola. Make an appointment to meet her by calling 415.554.3000 and ask for information about Lola, ID# A060278.

So, after a dramatic evening of my cat (Rumble) driving herself insane with constantly licking herself raw all over and running around in a non-stop frenzy, I took her – late night – to Pets Unlimited – which has 24-hour veterinary care. Although I was repeatedly bumped back and had to wait quite a while because of several truly life-threatening (and sad to watch) subsequent cases, I can’t speak more highly of the care once it was her turn. (Dr. Chu, you rule!) After an incredibly thorough and thoughtful examination, mundane verdict was: it turns out she was having an allergic reaction to fleas. This, despite the fact that during repeated inspections, I never even spotted one on her. I guess only one or two can do it. (Being an indoor cat in a 3rd floor hardwood studio apt, I can only surmise my carpeted hall trafficked with shaggy neighbor dogs to be the culprit.) Anyways, I know some people gripe that this place can get pricey. But they are a non-profit, providing adoption and shelter services in addition to medical care. And they also do a lot of great work with the community besides. So I have to give them a shout out for being so professional and, yes, humane. (Rumble is currently not too happy with their handywork however.)

A Single or Double Room?

Now first off, I am not anti-dog. I love dogs and had many myself. But what is up with dogs in hotels? Like smokers, shouldn’t they be kept outdoors? Would you want to be the next guest staying in the room after Princess here?

Her owner promises to keep the room clean, and I’m sure the Cartwright Hotel has good cleaning staff, but still. Dog hair gets everywhere and dog smell, especially wet dog smell, is not an odor that leaves with a Glade Plug-In.

Luckily, the Cartwright keeps dogs & their masters on the second floor, and I’m on the third. Still, I can just see me waltzing down tomorrow morning, all spiffy in my clean suit, and get a big paws-on-the-chest hello by a wet, dirty Princess.

What next, Vietnamese pot bellied pigs in the lounge?

San Francisco has become the first U.S. city to consider turning dog poopies into methane, which can heat homes, cook meals and generate electricity.

Just ran across this article about how the city plans on using dog crap to power our homes of the future. I just wonder why they don’t set up free toilets for the homeless to do the same instead of picking it up off the street. Namely my old front porch in the Haight. They could call em Power-potties™ and save us all a hell of a lot of hassle and plastic baggies.