September 2026 edition · Neighbors
You Can’t Teach an Old Dog a New Stick…New
Recent veterinary science has pointed out that when a dog goes for a walk, it’s a little like scrolling social media or reading the news.
Recent veterinary science has pointed out that when a dog goes for a walk, it’s a little like scrolling social media or reading the news. Every bush, favorite bench, and street corner offers a new array of scents and updates for them to read up on. Well, if dogs can read, don’t they need a library?
NOPA resident Lisa and her partner Jason seem to think so. Just a block from the Panhandle (a favorite spot for neighborhood pups), the couple has created their very own Stick Library on their stoop. A humble basket filled with, well, sticks, and adorned with a sign that reads, “Take a stick, leave a stick, chew a stick,” it’s a small gesture that brightens the entire block.
Lisa says the irony of a stick library isn’t lost on her, and she loves hearing the laughter of passersbys from her window when they first discover their little canine collection. Perhaps the most unexpected (though not entirely surprising) thing to come from it is how seriously the neighborhood kids take the library.
Like many little neighborhood projects, it all started during COVID. All of Lisa and Jason’s friends got puppies during lockdown, so in 2021, Jason created the Stick Library for them and all their friends. What began as a basket of sticks has since expanded into a little book library, along with the occasional offering of free sourdough starter. I even grabbed some myself and made a cinnamon apple loaf (for journalistic purposes of course).
As a newcomer to the Lower Haight, I find myself wondering what makes up the ecosystem of a neighborhood. Of course there are the big things: the architecture, the parks and greenways, the small businesses, the events that bring people together. But like any ecosystem, sometimes the smallest organisms can have the biggest impact.
Neighbors like Lisa, Jason, and their adorable dog Sky make their block their own, bringing a little life and whimsy to the concrete and asphalt that pave their streets.
Sometimes, apparently, all it takes is a basket of sticks.