The days grow short. Crows conspire on the dry lawns, and owls rustle as the evening thankfully cools.
This time of year in much of the Euro tradition we think of the black cat, lord of graveyard, demon’s familiar, unjustly associated with plague and bad karma.
But 1,500 miles or so southwest of Pasadena, backtracking to pre-contact Mexico, talk of los Muertos brings to mind Xoloitzcuintli, (pronounced “show-low-eats-QUEENT-lee”), the ancient Aztec dog of the gods.
In the Ancient Americas at LACMA collection at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art is a ceramic figure of a Xoloitzcuintli wearing a mask depicting a human face. The figure was made in Colima, Mexico between 200 BCE and 400 CE. The dog is wearing a human-face mask because in pre-contact Aztlán, dogs were believed to be our guides as we cross from earthly life into the underworld. The mask serves as a metaphor for the soul of the deceased individual.
Even today, the Huichol culture of Nayarit believe that, after death, the souls of dogs that have been well-treated meet their deceased owners and help their human friends dog-paddle across the river “a otro lado.” In some especially tender tellings, the Xolo carries the human, who has been reduced, Alice-in-Wonderland-style, to the size of a corncob, gently in its jaws. Sacred corn also, of course, symbolizes sustenance and life, and corn kernels were often interred with the dearly departed to ensure fertility in the next realm.
This 5,000 year-old canine is known as the “Mexican hairless” dog, with some sub-breeds called Techichi or Escuincle. While the historic depictions seem chubby and sociable, IRL the actual dog to our eyes today has a haughty, Leonard Nimoy-like, almost Egyptian aura.
Canine crusader Elaine Seamans of Valley Village is doing her own sort of dog-paddle in the deep end where, for many, all hope has sunk like a lost earring to the bottom of the pool. Her mission is one of guaranteed heartbreak: her At-Choo Foundation, the 501(c)3 nonprofit she founded in 2015, works in Mexicali and Tijuana to rescue homeless, abused and neglected dogs. Seamans’ foundation pays all medical bills associated with the recovery of these dogs, for treatments ranging from mange to broken bones and worse.
Asked why not cats, too, Seamans says “We don’t see many cats out on the streets in Mexico. I’m sure they are there, but they hide out.” Asked why it’s necessary to leave the USA to help needy dogs, she replies, “Well, it’s not necessary. We know that there is crying need everywhere. But after volunteering at a city shelter in the San Gabriel Valley, I got disillusioned. Then I realized that I would have much more impact if I worked in a small, but personal and direct way. Our work in Mexico is very urgent because resources there are far more scarce than they are for most of us here.”
She calls the canines she serves “Professors of Love,” and explains “We need more rescue organizations who will help us pull dogs out of Mexico, and of course we need fosters and adopters. It’s like a relay. Each step relies on the next step. And it takes a village.”
And here’s a perk of reading this column. You’re invited to put on the dog and fandango with fellow party-animals (including rescued Mexican street dogs) at a fun-filled, fur-filled fundraiser to benefit At-Choo Foundation.
The event will take place on Saturday November 9 at a private residence in Pasadena from 6:00 PM until 9:00 PM (address will be supplied to ticketholders). Tacos aplenty, both vegan and traditional, will be made on-site to set tails wagging, as guests enjoy a silent auction, sangria, piñata-smashing, and party games including photo-booth, graffiti-wall, and “pin the perro en la casa” (find the dog a home, a variant on pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey).
Raffle items include a guitar pick autographed by Taylor Swift, and an Apple watch.
Street Doggos Taco Fiesta, Saturday November 9th
- Purchasing tickets before November 1:
- Donation per ticket, no alcohol: $45
- Donation, with alcohol: $55 (3 drinks)
- Purchasing tickets after November 1:
- Donation per ticket, no alcohol: $50
- Donation per ticket, with alcohol: $60 (3 drinks)
- Paypal & Zelle : [email protected], Venmo: @atchoofoundation
- www.at-choofoundation.org
This week’s pets in need of homes:
Please note that for every photo caption below containing the abbreviation “PKF” (Pasadena Kitten Foster) the following information applies. Also please note that all featured felines from PKF/Tiny Paws and Whiskers Rescue have been neutered/spayed, vaxed, chipped, dewormed, and all test FIV/FeLV negative. And that’s part of why there is an adoption fee.
- Susan Gregory, with Tiny Paws and Whiskers
- 626-354-5799
- [email protected]
- Photo credit: Susan Gregory
- $150 adoption fee includes spay/neuter and all vaccinations
Click on photos to see larger images and captions.
so grateful for this piece on the at-choo foundation fundraiser that will help street dogs in medical crisis! it’s going to be so much fun! the dogs that are helped are so special and so worth everything!