Gary Bogue is retiring

Can you believe it? Today appeared his very last column. All the years of good advice and hard work will end with some much-deserved rest. Gary’s done a lot for pet owners and wildlife over the years, but I cannot exaggerate in the slightest sense how important he was to saving the Martinez Beavers. It was Gary who pushed for a common-sense humane solution and Gary who was the voice of reason from the Times when everyone was ready to believe all the city’s lies about the trouble they were causing.

In fact, so long ago that I can barely remember, the wildlife biologist from the SF Chapter of the Sierra Club invited me to their board meeting because she wanted to push them to adopt a position paper on the Martinez Beavers. As you may know the Sierra Club has never made a habit of worrying about wildlife, or beavers, they are more concerned with wild spaces. I drove at night to a dingy office building on San Pablo Ave where an unbelievably large number of strangers sat in a room making very dry, foreign-sounding decisions. I showed some beaver photos and said a few words, a few folks hemmed and hawed and then they voted. Afterwards the president took me aside and said very quietly that I should thank Gary Bogue. Because he was their respected friend of many years and had pushed for this action to happen behind the scenes. They wouldn’t have gotten involved without him, and the city would probably not have halted the train without them.

I thought such an important occasion needed an important goodbye, so I sent him this last week. Enjoy it and stop by his column to comment a few words of your own. So long Gary, and thanks for all the fish!

There are ‘possums in my pantry

There are raccoons on my roof

When I come back from vacation my new kitten acts aloof.

There are ducklings in the drainpipe

There are snakes beneath the stair

We need volunteers at Lindsay to assist with wildlife there.

Never fear, the answer’s local

And the naturalist is vocal

If it’s feathered, scaled or hairy

We would send a note to Gary

There are gophers in my garden

There are foxes on the fence

‘Pug’, the guinea pig went missing and we haven’t seen him since.

There are bats inside the basement

There are spiders on the sills

My dog just chased a porcupine now his nose is full of quills.

Never fear, the answer’s local

And the naturalist is vocal

If it’s feathered, scaled or hairy

We can send a note to Gary

There are beavers in Martinez

There wolves in Walnut Creek

And my poodle was abducted by an eagle in its beak.

My neighbor wants to shoot them

But my kids enjoy the sight

So which of us belongs here? Which one of us is right?

Never fear, the answer’s local

And the naturalist is vocal

If it’s feathered, scaled or hairy

We could send a note to Gary

But the naturalist is tired now

And he’s earned a bit of rest

Of all the columns in the Times we loved his words the best.

There is so much that he has given us

Gentle wisdom to recall

We will keep his teaching with us as our urban borders sprawl.

Never fear, the answer’s local

And the naturalist was vocal

If it’s feathered, scaled or hairy

It will thank our good friend Gary!

With Love from Worth A Dam