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EVERYDAY ENCOUNTERS

A part-time resident and her senior dogs savor local winters

Karen Pence ended up in California because her husband previously lived in Tiburon and she’s traveled to the Bay Area for work.

FRANCISCO MARTINEZ / FOR THE ARKKaren Pence takes her 14-year-old dogs Olie (left) and Rory on walk from Shoreline Park to downtown Tiburon on Feb. 11.
Francisco Martinez
By FRANCISCO MARTINEZ · 1 min read

Karen Pence is drawn in split directions as she takes her two dogs, Olie, a schnauzer-poodle mix, and Rory, a Brittany spaniel, for a walk from Shoreline Park to downtown Tiburon.

The part-time resident, 61, takes the two 14-year-old dogs on several walks a day, sometimes through downtown, sometimes around the Old St. Hilary’s Open Space Preserve — the dogs’ favorite spot, though it’s a bit difficult to navigate for the two senior pups.

“They have the signs (of old age), but they’re still pretty happy,” she says. While she says she loves them both equally, she’s got a soft spot for Olie.

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A version of this story appeared in the Feb. 19, 2025, print edition of The Ark. See something wrong? Request a correction.
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