Day One

Despite receiving the small menagerie of visitors from the ladies at Bay Street early in the afternoon, the drive to Alamo was already bumper to bumper on this holiday Friday, with virtually everyone in the East Bay scrambling to get out of town and escape their COVID captivity.

Stretch added some much appreciated comic relief with his chirps and songs, especially during a couple of business calls, adding to pre-holiday good spirits for all callers.

Much to this writer’s surprise and delight, Bella, Dexter and Stretch were all welcomed happily by the resident doggos with zero confusion or territoriality.

After some sniffing and unpacking, the dogs all played outside for a while, chasing each other and exploring. Dexter was especially fond of the pond waterfall, enjoying climbing up and down the rocks.

(Note is made here to the fact that Dexter’s collar has been equipped with a Whistle GPS tracking device that will ensure his whereabouts are always known. The accompanying mobile app notifies users any time he leaves the geofence of Area 51. It also tracks many health factors, such as his activity time, distance traveled, water consumed, licking, scratching, sleeping, etc. Should any readers want access to his data, please contact us using the link in the menu on the upper right of this site for secure transmission of login info.)

Stretch watched from his perch on the dining table inside and boogied down while singing to a couple impromptu songs that were played for him by the busker, although no donations were permitted.

After attending to some pressing office tasks, focus turned to food preparation for the week ahead. All four pups made their interest known, but try as they might, they were unable to assist the kitchen staff. As shown below, the recipe included turkey, carrots, kale, broccoli, peas and brown rice, and by human standards it tastes pretty delicious… even without any salt or seasoning having been added.

Once the food cooled enough, Dexter waited patiently and respectfully, sitting before being given an OK.

Bella, Dexter, Lola and Grady all dined happily and peacefully, without any conflict. Dexter ate the most slowly and once his sister had finished her portion, she attempted to edge him out to consume what he had remaining. As a result, she then found herself placed outside in the penalty box with the others so that Dex could finish his meal in peace.

Once he was ready, Dex went on an adventure where he made a new doggy friend named Ranger, played with a massive rabbit who really excited him (video here), and hung out with some old timers, their recent Cal Poly graduate son and a bevy of his friends.

Before returning to his home away from home, Dex enjoyed watching, and participating in, three heated ping pong matches. He served as a perfect good luck charm🍀, leading to a clean sweep for the good guys.

Everyone turned in by 11 PM, exhausted, in one bed that’s surprisingly not overcrowded!

Health Information: Dexter weighed in at 21 pounds. No medications seemed to be required. The team here will report on these matters each day.