After reading the last 3 posts, I bet you thought the Otis & Lucy Blog has turned into “All Paris Hilton, All the Time.”  Ha!  Not so fast!  There is much more going on.   If you’re disappointed that this post isn’t about Paris’ pooches, fret not.  Paris will return shortly after this brief intermission.  But if you’re happy that it isn’t about Paris, read on. 

Heidi looks on as Louie tries his best to destroy her favorite Frisbee

I met Diane and Heidi back in April when I invited them to the studio for some “head shots” for Heidi after reading Diane’s Column One article in the LA Times.  Since then, I have had the pleasure of meeting Diane and her husband, Alan Feldstein, a few more times and we have become good friends.  The “real” reason we stayed in touch though, is of course so our dogs can hang out with each other from time to time.  Louie and Heidi get along famously, albeit that Heidi always greets Louie with a low growl which means “Don’t you dare taking my toys.”  Louie obviously knows Heidi doesn’t REALLY mean that and takes her toys anyway.  Louie is a bit of a brat, you see.

I’m happy to report that, since the photo shoot in April, Heidi has found a few acting gigs for web and TV.  Here are a few installments of the Heidi Chronicles by Diane Haithman with funny accounts of Heidi’s Hollywood experience:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2009/07/dog-actor-webisode.html

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2009/09/dog-actor-video-pasw.html

and

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2009/10/dogbackground-actordesperate-housewives.html

Louie happily exploring the backyard deck with Alan

Diane and Alan were kind enough to invite me and Louie over for dinner at their beautiful home a couple weeks ago.  Knowing that Louie will steal Heidi’s toys, we brought her a new tug toy as a peace offering.  Upon arrival at the house, Louie, using the gift we brought as distraction, dashed straight in, past Diane, past Alan, past Heidi and her growl, and proceeded to find and bring out all of Heidi’s toys.  Louie paraded all around the house, inside and out, with the new-found toys.  He was happy and amazed at the tri-level deck/backyard/garden.  There was so much space he hardly knew what to do!  At home and in the studio he couldn’t run more than 10 feet in any direction without hitting a wall.  Here he could really stretch his legs.  He was also fascinated by the two water features out in the garden/deck.  He tried to go swimming in the small planter with a fountain on the deck, but he could only fit 1 paw in at a time.  Being the water dog that he is, he still thought that was great.

I enjoyed Diane and Alan’s home just as much myself.  In addition to the Heidi Chronicles, Diane also writes arts and entertainment reviews in Culture Monster.  Alan is an avid outdoorsman and photographer.  So the couple obviously has great tastes in art, and there is no shortage of fantastic sculptures and photographs throughout the house.  The house itself is equally fantastic in its design and clever use of existing land features that pays lots of attention to small details with great impacts.

The slanted edge of the second-level deck visually breaks up the parallel lines to great effect

While spending the early evening hours on the deck with a great home-made meal, I found out about Alan’s upcoming trip to West Africa to experience African voodoo culture.  Being the photography enthusiast that he is, I’m certain he’ll get lots of great shots on his trip and I cant’ wait to see them.  I also found out that Alan, a prominent attorney, used to represent a well-known actor (whose name I will not reveal here for privacy reasons) with whom I went to high school.  Such a small world.

Louie to Alan: "May I have some of your gelato, please? I swear I haven't had any yet..."

After dinner, all five of us piled into Diane’s car and took a short drive to the near-by Gelato Bar for some dessert.  The dessert and coffee joint is owned by Gail Silverton, sister of Nancy Silverton of La Brea Bakery and Mozza fame.  The place serves up freshly made gelato in a great variety of unusual favors.  The sidewalk tables and chairs are frequented regularly by dogs and their humans.  The barista was kind enough to make up a couple of doggie-sized gelato cones for Heidi and Louie and brought the treats outside for them.  Louie, demonstrating how NOT be a gentleman, promptly ate BOTH cones without offering even left-over crumbs to his host, Heidi.  Girls still seem to love him though, including Heidi.  Go figure.

All in all, our evening with great company and great food couldn’t have ended any better with my pink grapefruit/watermelon/dark chocolate gelato.  Louie and I would like to thank Diane and Alan for a most enjoyable trip to Studio City and we look forward to our next gathering!

- andy

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Heidi getting a good scratchin' from Alan

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Louie splashing water all over the deck as Diane, Alan and Heidi look on in bewilderment

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Alan photographing Louie

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