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Mountain View News Saturday, October 18, 2025


PURE

PURRFECTION

Twyla, age 6, is the 
picture of grace and 
charm, and reminds 
us of the song by Joe 
Cocker, “You Are 
So Beautiful.” She’s 
wrapped in a coat 
of gorgeous, flowing 
fur. With her sweet 
nature and calm 
presence, she emits a sense of warmth and serenity. 
This lovely girl is polite and well-mannered, yet still 
playful enough to keep you smiling with her gentle 
antics.

Pick her up and she’ll reward you with a soothing 
purr, happy to be cradled in loving arms. Twyla is 
wonderfully friendly with both cats and dogs, making 
her a delightful companion 
in a home with 
furry friends. She is also 
fully vetted, and ready to 
settle into her forever family. 

Twyla’s current loving owner, sadly, can no longer keep her, so we are 
seeking a special home where she will continue to receive the same 
care, kindness, and affection she has always known. If you’re looking 
for the perfect feline companion—one who is beautiful inside and 
out—Twyla is waiting to fill your home with love. See more at https://
www.lifelineforpets.org/twyla.html or scan the code.

CHRISTOPHER Nyerges 

 

[Nyerges is the author of “How to Survive Anywhere,” “Extreme Simplicity,” “Til Death 
Do Us Part?” and other books. He can be reached at www.SchoolofSelf-Reliance.com or 
Box 41834, Eagle Rock, CA 90041]

GATO BARBIERI’S GIFT OF “EUROPA” 


I had just been told that a friend had died. It was sad to realize I’d never see him 
again. The musical chairs of life goes on, but I always have to stop when I hear of 
death, at least a death of one who is close. For me, life is about the people around me. When they 
die, a piece of me dies.

 

Gato Barbieri’s “Europa” is playing on the radio. That’s Ramah’s song. Ramah was my purebred 
pitbull who came on my field trips. When she died many years ago, I was holding her in my arms as 
she gave out her last goodbye cry, as the eerie nostalgic sound of Europa was playing on the radio. 
Since then, Europa has been “Ramah’s song,” her goodbye rite-of-passage song. I think of Ramah 
when I hear Europa, and I think of death and the seem-ing impermanence of life.

 

It is time for work so I drive away with the radio off. I want to hear the silence. I arouse a cooper’s 
hawk as I go down the long driveway and he swoops away under the oaks with a pocket gopher in 
his claws. More death. 

 

I think about the pocket gopher which devours my root crops, and I feel no sadness. Still, I only 
shudder to think that he’ll be ripped apart and eaten while still alive. Is that good? Is it bad?

 

A local Sierra Club hiker wrote about his chancing upon a mountain lion killing a deer. He said he 
could have interrupted it, but he didn’t. He watched it. He said it was beautiful. He said it was part 
of the beauty of nature.

 

Beauty? Certainly the kill is part of nature, part of The Way. Eat or be eaten. But “beauti-ful”? The 
deer would have had its throat slit from behind, and while it struggled, the lion would have ripped 
open his underside and begun eating the deer while it was still alive. Nope, not beautiful. Brutal, 
vicious, sobering. 

 

Part of The Way, yes. Beautiful, no. 

 

Death is not beautiful. To the dead, I presume it is peaceful. To the living, painful, especially when 
a close one goes and you experience their absence, and the pain of separa-tion. You’re forced to 
acknowledge the temporary nature of life. You’re forced to make each moment count, to make each 
moment matter.

 

Off to my work of the day, I think about the immediate now, the temporary world of timeclocks 
and responsibility and bills and rents and taxes. I am only mildly cheered up by telling myself this 
is only temporary.

 

I sip my coffee at a downtown coffeehouse in the dense fog of the early morning before my work 
begins. The fog drifts and flows, like the drifting landscape of my thoughts of life and death and 
work and bills.

 

I pause as I sip my coffee, and acknowledge the endless cycle of year after year, life and death and 
life and death, and each day provides new opportunities to improve and to do what has not been 
done yet.

 

Still, death is everywhere. It is inescapable. And yet it is perhaps our blessing. It is the so-bering 
element that forces us to reconsider everything, and to strive to do the right thing in each moment. 
Death forces us to think larger than just our own interests, and forces us to think about what is best 
for the most people, and what is best for the next generation. It forces us to treat everyone around 
us even better, and we never need to wait for “tomorrow” in order to do that.


Pet of the Week

 
Sonnet is a two-year-old Australian Kelpie 
at Pasadena Humane who has raised her 
puppies and has seen them through to 
adoption – now it’s her turn to find her own 
loving home!

Sonnet is a gentle, affectionate dog with 
a quiet energy indoors and a playful side 
outdoors, according to her beloved foster 
family. While shy at first, Sonnet quickly 
bonds and becomes a loyal shadow, following 
her person everywhere. She’s happiest 
playing fetch, or curling up by your side for a 
good nap.She’s house-trained, doesn’t bark, 
and has excellent manners – no begging, no 
jumping, and no pushing for attention. She 
sticks close off leash in secure spaces and is 
very respectful of boundaries.

Sonnet would do best in a quiet, child-free home where she can settle in at her own 
pace. She’s still learning to trust new people and places, but once she opens up, she’s 
incredibly loving. Now available for a 10-day adoption trial, let her show you what a 
special companion she can be!

Sonnet and all other available animals will have their adoption fees waived on Free 
Adoption Day, October 18th from 10am to 2pm.The adoption fee for dogs is $150. All 
dog adoptions include spay or neuter, microchip, and age-appropriate vaccines. 

Walk-in adoptions are available every day from 10:00 – 5:00. View photos of adoptable 
pets at pasadenahumane.org.

New adopters will receive a complimentary health-and-wellness exam from VCA 
Animal Hospitals, as well as a goody bag filled with information about how to care for 
your pet.

Pets may not be available for adoption and cannot be held for potential adopters by 
phone calls or email.

FREE ANIMAL HOSPITAL AND COOKIE WISH MARGARET 
HAPPY 101st BIRTHDAY! 

By Sam Bernardo

On Monday September 29, 2025 Margaret 
turned 101 years old . Cookie, a 
rescue, is estimated to be 13-14 years 
old. Together, they have a wonderful 
story to tell:

Margaret moved to Sierra Madre after 
she retired to be near her younger sister, 
Sadie who lived in Arcadia. 

Cookie was brought to Free Animal 
Doctor in or about 2017-18 with mammary 
tumors.

Free Animal Doctor (FAD) raised the 
money to have her tumors removed (not 
cancer) ; afterwards she convalesced 
with me and was eventually put up for 
adoption. In 2018, Sadie adopted Cookie 
and another FAD rescue named Stanley.

Cookie, fiercely independent did not 
play well with Stanley, so as big sisters do, Margaret came to the rescue, and adopted Cookie

 

Margaret and Cookie lived just around the corner and I would frequently see these two strolling 
along while I was walking my dogs. As a result Margaret and I became friends. 

 

In late 2020, Sadie entered the Kensington and within several months Margaret and Cookie followed. 
Once again Margaret had the need to be near her little sister. Sadly, Sadie has since passed 
away.

 

The relationship between Margaret and Cookie is heartwarming. When I asked Margaret what 
Cookie meant to her, she said, Cookie loves me more than anyone else in the world.

Then I asked Margaret if she felt the same way about Cookie, Margaret said she loves several people 
and Cookie is one of them.

 

Then she said “ Cookie is my companion.”

Companion is defined a person or animal with whom one spends a lot of time, shares activities, 
and provides mutual support and affection

 

Cookie relies on Margaret and Margaret relies on Cookie.

Every day without fail, each receives and gives unconditional love.

 

Weather permitting, Margaret walks Cookie twice a day. “Cookie keeps me walking , which is 
exactly what my doctors tell me to do.“

 According to Margaret, “everyone knows Cookie more than they know me”. “People talk to me 
because of Cookie. They stop to ask about Cookie and tell me about their dog.” 

 

Recently, Cookie’s mammary tumors returned and were again removed.


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com