River Cat

The kids at the school used to call him "River". With good reason!

Here is Briar at the river walking upstream.

Briar crossing the river.

He's good at distraction

"Mommy! I want Mommy", a girl screamed at the top of her lungs. "I want mommeeee!"

She was around 7 or 8 years old I think. She was holding some tissue against her mouth. She was standing in the angle of the van and the open door. Her dad had no idea what to do, he was in a panic, trying to do whatever he could to help alleviate his daughters pain.

I couldn't help but approach them and ask her what happened. She continued to cry,"aahhhh, ahhh" with her mouth open but wouldn't tell me.

"She fell and hit her mouth" her dad responded.

A few seconds later, she spotted Briar about 15 feet behind me and instantly stopped crying. Briar was walking towards us, but once the noise stopped, he picked it up a notch and started galloping. When he came within a foot of her, his tail popped up and he looked up at her soggy face. He was happy...and so she became. It was like the pain never existed in her mouth. She reached down as Briar lifted his head up for her to pet. With the remnants of tears in her eyes, a smile crept out from under her bloody tissue.

"Thank you", her dad said in relief.

I smiled and replied, "He's good at distraction".

And we were on our way.

Reunion

I was out of town for a couple days and asked my neighbors to keep an eye on him while I was gone. Funny thing is, when I asked him, he said "I'll try". This was a sincere statement, seeing the last time I asked them to watch Briar, he was around maybe 4 hours out of 4 days. He wandered off and escaped a couple times.

Being 400 miles away, I was missing Briar, wondering what that little rascal was up to. I called my neighbor to see if he was around and to let them know I would be extending my trip a day longer. He said they hadn't seen him. I was a little worried. Chris and I started talking about the funny things Briar does... how he caught his tail on fire (twice!!!) and how he flung himself into the wire net on the greenhouse and bounced 5 feet off of it like a trampoline. In the middle of the conversation, I received a call from a woman down at the point. She explained how she loved the cat, how he was loving her with his big white paws, and that she would come visit him in the near future.

I immediately phoned my neighbors to tell them about the location of the Briar spotting. Minutes later they drove out there to pick him up. Funny thing is, my neighbor had been meaning to catch up with this woman for the last couple months. In some way, he reunited them. It's kind of like when I kept telling my neighbor I would visit her office and kept putting it off (click here to read posting). Do you think this is all a coincidence or Briar really has some sort of connection with the universe and is here to bring all of humanity together?

Warm Welcome Home

On my drive home I was anxiously hoping Briar would be around. Earlier, my neighbor told me had come and gone in the AM and hadn't seen him all day. Trying not to allow for disappointment, I forced myself into thinking "he's probably fine, he's probably going to be out and about and hopefully he'll come home sometime tonight".

I arrived home around 8pm. It was pretty dark. I called for Briar only once as I loaded my shoulders with luggage. I barely could open the gate with my free finger... and SURPRISE!!! There was a little Briar waiting for me inside the gate. He sat there and looked at me in wonderment... "Where have YOU been? I've been here this WHOLE time!"

I gave him lots of pets and a special treat of tuna. He was dirty and left a dust spot on the couch so I gave him a bath. He was still super happy I was home and slept by me all night.

You think its funny?

On our walk this morning I decided to take Briar out to Stewarts point. There was a bit of a jam there; a photographer with his tripod, a woman and her dog, a couple cars, and this eccentric (or maybe egocentric) man with his dog.

This man approaches the point and his dog starts yanking on his leash, barking agressively, and tries to lunge at Briar. Keep in mind, Briar sits there calmly with a little bit of back poof, staring the dog in the eye. The man gets risen up as it takes a bit of adrenaline and strength to contain his 80+ lb dog. The other people around smile and are entertained by the novel idea that this little kitty goes on walks. I smile too.

He catches my eye in the midst of the chaos, and he says to me, "You think it's funny that my dog can kill your cat?". I say to him, "Oh he's ok, if he's threatened, he'll run away". He continues to try to pull his dog around the point as his dog is persistently worked up over Briar. The man is getting really irritated. I kind of smirk and do a small nose laugh as he says to me, "You think it's funny? All my dog has to do is take a bite out of your cat, and he's dead. My dog has killed a cat before". I bit my lip as I didn't want to upset my lovely walk and decided not to say anything. The man continued on as he was using his all his momentum to pull the dog away.

OK, so I am a little confused here. Everyone here at the point, including Briar, is mellow, well behaved, enjoying the beautiful scenery on this lovely morning. This man with the dog seemed to be the only one having trouble. He was having trouble controlling HIS dog... maybe he was angry because he has trouble controlling his life. MAYBE it's because he blames everything on everyone else, including Briar who's happily chillin' at the point. MAYBE it's because whoever owned the cat his dog killed sued him and he's still paying for damages... who knows?!?

To all of this, my initial response was to get smart with him and say... "Maybe you should train your dog not to kill cats." or "Maybe if you were a happier person, your dog wouldn't have the desire to kill things". But either way, I was happy, because I got to write something on Briar's blog about it. HAHA.

Another Letter from Lily

"Lily the dog here. I am so with you on the having fun part. I get sooooo annoyed by those signs that show a dog with a big red circle/hash mark on it (River School has one.. or two... or several). I say "Whatever dudes and dudettes!" It's my job to run wild man! So let the wind whip through my gorgeous ears..When I see one of those signs, well, I still go...I just try to hold my "dooty" so not to cause any upset.. unlike those darn Canada Geese that poop enough to fill 8 football fields. (I actually chase them away and laugh at those silly birds). Why don't they have a NO GEESE sign? huh??! I should be rewarded for my efforts..not maligned. A lot of people are just misinformed and crabby. All of them need to get a glass of wine, come to River School field (bring a blanket to avoid sitting on goose dung) and we will set you straight about what life is really about. It's about relaxing, smiling, having good grub at your disposal 24/7, running where you're not suppose to, and having humans who understand all that. You and I are lucky Briar.Yeah Baby! Lily"

Nobody wants to play!

Yeah, it's me Briar. I just needed to get my 2 cents in, ya know. So...I've noticed that my person has taken over the blog. I really meant the blog to be a journal for me. I thought that I'd write every... once a ... season? But my person is really having a good time with it. So I guess my person is entitled to some fun.

Which brings me to my topic of the season... FUN.

Have you ever noticed Frank doesn't really want to play with me? I mean, Frank, come on! Lighten up a little. He just wants to lick or wander the fence line, all serious like. I try to rile him up a little. But he swipes with claws extended and tries to bite me in the ...........

"beeeeeeeeeeep beep." Sorry, censors.

Seriously, he's kind of boring. And some of my readers have asked me, "What's up with Frank?" I was just as confused. Until recently...

I started putting it all together when I actually started reading some of my person's blog entries. I listened to some of the recordings of the "concerned" citizens. And what I'm understanding is that there are a lot of people & animals just missing out on a whole lot of fun because their toooooo serious all the time. Can't we all just let loose a little & laugh & enjoy each other's company & work out our differences & move forward in a healthy way?

So, that's my take on it all. Let's take care of each other in friendship & have fun doing it! See you on the flip side!!

Big Trucks

Briar isn't afraid of much. He's pretty fearless when it comes cars, crashing waves, big dogs, and people. But it seems the one thing that gets to him is big trucks. He really freaks out when he hears Waste Management come by. He'll run some 50 feet in the opposite direction. Do you suppose he has some horrible memory from his past? Maybe animal control came and picked him up in a big truck where they put him in jail for 2 weeks? That would definitely make me afraid of big trucks. What do you think?

Lobos Lodge

Today, Briar decided he didnt want to wait for me to walk him this morning. When I finally had my cup of coffee ready in hand, he had already been on his way.

Around 11:00AM, I received a call from the Lobos Lodge. This is about a mile from where we live. He decided to visit one of his golden retriever persons who works there. Apparently Briar follows her and her friends regularly on Scenic.

A small side note: Lobos Lodge is a pretty cool place to hang. They have a pretty garden and the people are nice.

Kitty Play II

Open House

Message Transcription:
"Hello ah, this is Jean calling you about Briar, I'm at an open house and he has come across the street to see us in the house that's on the corner of Monte Verde and Santa Lucia and um, he came runnning across the street just enough to get hit by a car, thank god you know he didn't. But I'm concerned he's just come into the open house and he's just lovin' here and uh, I don't know what to do with him. Um, I'm going to try when im done here, if I havent heard from you, Im going to walk him across the street because we're here, and he came across Santa Lucia, don't know why, because it was pretty busy traffic but he crossed the street, and I don't. ??? ... so um, you can give me a call my cell... ??"

Jumped in my car!

Message Transcription:
Hi my name is Kera, ah, you don't know me but I was taking my daughter to school at the mission this morning and I drive by the Ocean and your cat jumped in my car, I see that you live on the corner of Monte Verde and Santa Lucia, however, I live in PG and I'm not quite familiar with all of the streets in Carmel, I work in the Valley so, I was trying to get a hold of you to... if I can find Monte Verde street and Santa Lucia I'll probably take your cat and put her there, but she just literally jumped right in my car. I couldn't believe it because I'm actually allergic to cats but don't worry I love her and I'll take good care of her until I can get her home to your house. If you get this message and you can call me in this hour, my cell is 402... and its actually my daughters birthday so I'm gonna be in Carmel until ten making cupcakes..."

Guess who just marched into the kitchen?

Message Transcription:
"Oh hey, Belinda it's Leslie here on Taylor Rd, and guess who just marched into the kitchen? Briar! Which is fine, we love Briar, but he's awfully far from home. So I'm wondering if you're across the street. Um, I haven't gone over there to look. I just drove by getting Decklin from water polo. But I didn't see your car on the street but it could be in the driveway. But Briar is here, so if you can give me a call back and let me know what to do, I'm afraid to just let him out and wander back over, I don't know that he would. Um, it's 8, oh sorry, it's 7:20. And Briar's here... Thanks bye".

Two Six Three

Message Transcription:
"Ah yes, ah, we have your cat here, ah hes at two six, two six three, on Scenic, we tried to pick him up and bring him to you, but he didn't want anything to do with it, so he's currently there in that general area, wandering. So thought you would like to know".

Briar, Busted!!!

I failed to walk Briar one morning because I had an early engagement. When I came home, he wasn't around. It was a beautiful day and the waves were good so I decided to surf. I drove to 11th and started suiting up in my wetsuit. About half way through, I see two women speed walking with their dog across the intersection perpendicular to me. They pass by, and about 10 feet behind them, it was Briar happily following.

I was surprised and yelled,"Briar! Briar Kitty!".

He stopped in his tracks when he heard his name, looked directly at me for about two seconds, and then happily continued to follow them.

The lady stopped and asked, "You know that cat?"

"Yea, that's my cat!" I replied.

"He's so cute, he's been following us since Ocean Avenue!" she stated.

"Yea, I didn't walk him this morning so he decided to find someone who would".

We laughed about it and I had to chase him down a little to catch him. Half way dressed in my wetsuit, I drove him home.

After my surf, I came home and he was gone. I had no idea where he went. Around 4:00PM, Chris spotted him at 13th street playing in the bushes. He once again got delivered home.

You know, I think he KNOWS that he can go anywhere and get a ride home. I wonder if he plays the game on purpose... "I wonder how far I can get from home before my person comes to pick me up?"

Scenic and 13th

This morning, we walked Briar with his buddy Kona all the way to town for a cuppa joe and back on Scenic. Somewhere along 13th we lost track of him. I had to get to work so we left.

Around 2:30 I received a phone call that he was seen stalking a butterfly at Scenic and 13th (pretty much where we lost him). I told the lady I would be by to pick him up in 2 minutes.

When I arrived, there was a circle of people around him. One of the ladies had him by his underarms with his face all squished and he seemed quite bothered, like he just wanted to be put down. She handed him to me and said, "He's starting to get upset with me", I'm thinking, "Yea, probably because you wont put him down".

Then she proceeded to ask me, "How did he get out?"

Soooo wanting to say the smart alec remark "DUH, I let him out", I was nice and said, "I usually let him out during the day, he comes to play at the beach all the time".

She then said, "We'll believe me, from experience, if you don't keep him in, he won't make it, you're too young to know this, but he won't make it". (First of all, what does me being too young have to do with anything?). She then went in detail about coyotes and bears and dinosaurs (she might as well said dinosaurs, she was making this area sound like a big bad prehistoric wilderness) and seemed really bothered that I didn't take her same opinion. When she realized there was no convincing me, she quickly scurried off.

A visitor out of town was in the vicinity of the whole happening. It seemed she wanted to follow up the negative with some positive and reassured me, "He's a beautiful cat, I think you should just keep him in at night, that's when the bad animals come out", and then said, "You're lucky to live here." I love positive people. Thank you for that, no need to be cranky and scolding on such a beautiful day!

Lucky Cat

Thanks bro for posting!
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my name is Ben and I'm one of Belindas Bros. My Bro and cousin and I were on our way to play some golf in Chowchilla, CA and about half way there (at Pacheco Pass) my brother thought he heard a faint "Meow" again as he thought he heard earlier. So we stopped and checked the trunk and sure enough, there was Briar. At first we were really angry but then he's just so cute, so we forgive him. We ended up playing golf in Monterey and the weather was perfect. If my bro had not heard him Briar would have cooked in the central valley heat!!! Lucky cat.

Attack Cat

Briar surprise ambushes me.

Enjoying the Sunset

Yesterday I got a call that Briar was at their house again (apparently this is the 2nd time). I wondered what the intrigue might be there.

When I arrived, I saw many things that would be appealing. The view, the iceplant hunting grounds over the rocky cliff, and... could this be a new friend? I don't know his name, but he looks like Sylvester. Either way, Briar and his new friend enjoyed the sunset together.

Briar's whole other life

Yesterday, on my morning walk with Briar around the point, I had been stopped by a number of people who had asked me, "Is that cat following you? He's always down here following people".

Many times I replied, "Briar? Yeah he's my cat!".

Everytime I said that it seemed people were surprised that he was actually with his person, me. It's funny, they know his name and call him out, "Hey there's Briar". Other people speak to him like a person, "Hi Briar!"

Apparently he has this whole other life that I don't know about.

One guy even followed us a little distance, crouched down, and snapped a photo of him with this huge photo lens.

When my dad and I were walking around the block a nice lady drove up to us and asked out her window, "Does that cat have a website?"

I replied, "Yep!"

She said, "I thought so!" and then drove off.

Please leave comments about your experience with Briar. I'd love to hear your stories (and post them).