Autumn is one of the best times of year on the San Francisco bay, and the Foggy Doggies day on the bay began promising pure magic. Members of this San Francisco Alumni chapter and their friends traveled via bus, rail, para transit and private car with their guide dogs from counties south, east and north of San Francisco and arrived on ferry docks in Oakland, San Francisco and Tiburon. Guide dogs confidently led their handlers along piers onto creaky gangways, beside other passengers and onto the ferry to seats where they were exposed to the salty air.
When the boats arrived, the guide dog teams disembarked and ranger/interpreter Casey Dexter Lee welcomed the Foggy Doggies ashore. One interesting fact about Angel Island is that no dogs are allowed except service dogs. After introductions, the group walked to picnic tables on which Casey had previously arranged various specimens of plants. The group enjoyed smelling, touching and looking at Eucalyptus pods and leaves, Toyon, Bay Laurel, Buckeye, Norfolk pine, Oak and many other native and non-native plants.
To illustrate the long history of Angel Island in a tactile way, Casey allowed each person to touch representative symbols of the history of Angel Island. She asked the group to identify what each object represented. There was a slightly concave wooden platter that was used for proofing bread, a canteen that could have belonged to a World War 1 veteran, a replica of a Japanese poem carved into the wall at the immigration detention station, and a Nike running shoe to symbolize the Nike Missile Base located on the island from 1954 until it was decommissioned in 1962. Finally, Casey treated the group to homemade silver dollar sized pancakes made from acorn flour she’d processed by pounding acorns into a meal. She processed it in a similar way to how the earliest inhabitants of Angel Island, the Native American Miwok did.
After this unique science and history lesson, Casey turned the group loose to eat lunch in Ayala Cove. Once again, guide dogs expertly guided their handlers past visitors eating grilled hot dogs and hamburgers, fish tacos, oysters on the half shell, chili, and sandwiches purchased from the café. After lunch, some guide dog teams headed off for a hike, while others relaxed, enjoying the natural beauty of the San Francisco bay.
All too quickly, it was time to head back to the ferry dock where the Foggy Doggie teams would travel home via their various modes of transportation, the dogs anxious for their well-deserved dinners! One chapter member commented that he had never had the opportunity to go to Angel Island, and he was grateful to be a part of an alumni chapter that provided him with an opportunity to do something he’d always wanted to do and to make the trip independently. Other members expressed some trepidation ahead of time about traveling to a new area, but felt that with the support of other guide dog handlers, they were excited about taking advantage of the opportunity to have some fun.
