arwin is a beagle-mix, obtained by Malaya and her mom in early 2006, when he was about one year old.  For now he lives at mom's place in Alameda, near the Bay, but Malaya intends to claim him full time once we've moved to a house with a yard and enough space for Darwin and the cats to co-exist.

I'm not sure how happy Jinx and Dusty will be about that, but I am sure Darwin will absolutely love it. He likes chasing things, and stares in fascination whenever he spots a cat on one of his walks.  He likes walks.

He also likes eating vegetables, running back and forth in pursuit of his squeaky toys, not learning to sit on command, sleeping on the bed he's not allowed to sleep on, and standing in the front window, wagging his tail furiously in excitement whenever Malaya and me pull up in front of mom's house.

Despite that long list of admirable attributes, I'm pretty much indifferent to him, at this point. I've never much cared for dogs one way or the other, I've never had a pet dog, and I've never really wanted one. I'm not opposed to Darwin living with us, I'd just never think to go and get a dog for myself. Malaya's always wanted one, and she's overjoyed with Darwin and goes over to see her mom much more often now that she's got Darwin to walk and play with too.

• Email Malaya about her dog here.
• More recent photos are added on top of this page.

Malaya chose this composition, and I thought it was funny. She and her mom are very conscientious about Darwin's poo, always carrying plastic bags on his two walks a day, to retrieve the evidence he leaves in someone's lawn.  We can see why as we walk too; at least every other yard's got some drying dog turd, left by some inconsiderate asshole of a dog owner. (Well, not literally, but you know...)
--May 29, 2006

We walked Darwin down to the Bay one time, and yes, posing him beside no dog signs is heaps of fun.
--May 29, 2006

I melted Malaya's heart by pouring water into my palm and letting Darwin drink from it on a hot day. She of course switched to a wider-mouthed bottle that Darwin can lap directly from, since loves him and all, but she knows where his tongue has been.
--May 29, 2006

Darwin in his rain coat matching Malaya's mom in her rain coat. Yes, Darwin's coat was picked out for this reason.
--May 29, 2006

Darwin going to work on one of his squeaky toys. He loves to grip them in his teeth and trot around, biting them just enough to make constant squeaks.
--May 29, 2006

Look at the big, sad puppy dog eyes. Etc.
--May 29, 2006

After every walk Darwin gets wiped down, feet, back, belly, and all. It keeps him clean, and keeps his musky odor from building up. Plus it's good practice for Malaya's mom as she eagerly awaits the eventual grandchildren.
--May 29, 2006

More wiping.
--May 29, 2006

I'd always heard that dogs liked riding in cars, but I had no idea how true that was until opening the door for Darwin and watching him nearly break his back scrambling in. The fact that they know to face forward, even when the car isn't moving, confuses me. How does the dog know which way a car moves?
--May 29, 2006

He's not a snarly dog at all, so I'm assuming this cute photo was a result of some chop-licking and random timing of the click. And yes, his coat has been tailored a bit since this early shot, so it fits more snugly.
--May 29, 2006

The little dude sitting at the semi-ready.
--May 29, 2006

Newer photos are added on top, so scroll or click up.

All site content copyright "Flux" (Eric Bruce), 2002-2007.