Mission Blood

After about a dozen years of living in the Mission, I've seen my share of gang violence and drive-by shootings that I've grown to not be too wary. But the number and proximity of recent ones is a bit spooky. Not being a member of Hell's Angels, having no visible gang member tattoos and usually not roaming the streets at 4:45 a.m. on a weekend, I don't feel I would be a likely target but could be the proverbial bystander caught in the crossfire.

Some business are saying they are ready to leave the neighborhood, ironically just as Sushi Bistro and other Noe Valley-esque spots are just arriving.

About six months ago there was a similar shooting right under the bay window where Guru watches street theater that did not result in a fatality but was spooky enough to make me extra diligent.

Well, I am sure that many of you are wanting yet another update on the boy. Now on our fourth day, the bonding is definitely on the fast track, but I'm becoming more aware of the extent of his special needs. The basenji rescue network has been very supportive, but the whole psychological make up of his previous household are emerging. He was a support dog to a disabled woman who let him rule the house and never socialized him with other dogs and very few people. Raised as strictly a house and yard dog in suburban Sacramento, his sudden arrival in San Francisco has been a huge shock to him. Our first few walks went fine, but this evening we came seriously close to disaster when we passed other dogs and he was on sensory overload as a MUNI bus, the singing and tambourine in the Hispanic Pentecostal church hit a crescendo, a low rider with a ghetto blaster passed and the guy with the yapping chihuahua started screaming at the pooch and me.

That hasn't nixed my hope to make it a permanent home for Guru, but it's obviously going to require some work. Seeing what an angel and love muffin he is when we're inside alone gives me the desire to rise to the challenge and tap into the resources to make it happen. As they say, it takes a village to raise a basenji.