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18 JUNE 20, 2003
www.houston voice.com HOUSTON VOICE
ISN'T IT TIME?
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Houston Area Community Services
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KOLBE
Project
Offering Peace &
Reconciliation
to the Alienated
CALENDAR
1030 Heists BH<1
Houston, TX 77008
ph.713..S61.18<X)
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Morning Prayer 10am
Monday • June 23
Eucharist 7:30pm
Friday • June 27
Morning Prayer 10am
Movie Night 7pm
"Analyze That"
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Celebrating 26 Years
in the Community
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TINA KING
Gay Houston couple share
all parts of their home with
pair of affectionate dogs
German Shepherds a delight
JUST OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY 8 SOUTH-
west of Montrose, dogs bark in the backyard
of a beautiful white Spanish stucco house
with a red tile roof and lush greenery
One of the home's human residents,
Robert Harwood, introduces his two "kids":
German Shepherds Blanca and Ranger.
Blanca, 2, is snow-white, while Ranger,
almost 4, is black and tan. Both are friendly
and affectionate, but do not jump on and
knock down visitors in their enthusiasm, as
is the case with many large dogs.
Originally from Minneapolis, Harwood has
known that he was gay from me time he took
his first tap, jazz and ballet classes at age 5. His
mother said he was always dancing around the
house as a young boy and she approached him
about the dance lessons. It was also his mother
who first came to him and asked him if he was
gay and Harwood knew there was no other
answer but to tell her, "Yes."
Though his devoutly religious Catholic parents had some problems at first in accepting
their son's sexual orientation, both are now
accepting of him and his partner, Richard, and
his three sisters have always been "cool" with
it, Harwood relates. All his siblings are married and still live in Minnesota, and he is an
uncle many times over
That early dance training paid off, as
Harwood spent several years as a professional dancer. After five years in New York he
moved to Houston in 1991, never missing the
Minnesota winters, and now works as a bartender at gay piano bar Keys West.
HARWOOD AND RICHARD, WHO HAVE
been together for six years, got Ranger
because they love big dogs, and Blanca was a
birthday gift to Harwood from Richard,
because Harwood always thought solid white
German Shepherds are beautiful, he explains.
Ranger and Blanca get along well together,
wrestling and nuzzling one another, but,
"Blanca is definitely the alpha dog," says
Harwood. Blanca loves toys and balls, and as
fast as you can put them in her toy box, she
has them out on the floor .again.
If Blanca is receiving a little too much
attention from Harwood, Ranger runs over
to nuzzle Harwood's hand for some affection. Harwood says his dogs are like his
children. In fact, he and Richard purchased
a king-size bed to accommodate all four of
them. Harwood says Blanca and Ranger are
mostly indoor dogs, but they do have a
doggy door so that they can come and go
into the backyard as they please.
Harwood says both are good guard dogs,
but turn into affection-beseeching puppies
when they know you. According to Harwood,
Blanca doesn't seem to take to other animals
or people very well; she's protective of her
territory A favorite past time of both is going
out for a run on their leash while Harwood is
rollerblading. If another dog comes into their
Robert Harwood (pictured) and his partner Richard
share their home with German Shepherds Blanca
and Ranger. (Photo by Penny Weaver)
vision or something catches their attention,
the once leisurely rollerblading turns into an
all-out chariot race with Harwood hanging
on for dear life, he says with a laugh.
Harwood and his partner's favorite hobby
is shopping, evident by their beautifully furnished home. Harwood also enjoys his worir in
fund-raising and putting on shows in Houston,
all to raise money for AIDS charities.
Harwood also holds the coveted title of "Mr.
Prime Choice 1996," which was the impetus in
getting him involved in fund-raising, he says.
IT IS EVIDENT WHAT PET-LOVERS THESE
two gay Houstonians are. In the backyard
where Blanca and Ranger romp so joyfully,
lush greenery surrounds paths, a fountain
and a pond of Japanese Koi fish. As I admired
the scenery and the pond, Harwood noticed
something disturbing about one of the
Japanese Koi. The fish seemed to be lethargic
and stationary on the bottom of the pond.
Harwood prodded him a little with a small
stick and the fish did not swim away a sure
sign of trouble. Upon closer inspection,
Harwood found that the Koi had a small
branch stuck in its mouth: one end protruding
from its mouth and the other from one of its
gills. Harwood seemed slightly distressed by
this discovery and after some brief discussion
about what to do he got a long-handled net and
gently pulled the Koi closer to him. He reached
out and slowly pulled on the end of the branch
projecting from the fish's mouth and it slipped
ever-so-gently out from both mouth and gill.
The fish immediately swam off and continued to glide gracefully through the pond
as we talked with relief about how glad
Harwood was that the "surgery" was minor
and the Koi seemed well.
Harwood and I parted company with a hug
and a handshake and Ranger, Blanca and the
Japanese Koi, if I can read animal non-verbals
accurately seemed to be happy to be in a loving home in which family encompasses those
with paws and gills alike.
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