Lincoln Mitchell & Isis

Who is in the photo at right?

Photo credit: Randi Klein

The photo is me, Lincoln Mitchell, and my beloved Isis. I am a consultant and writer who works on a number of different projects. I write a great deal about politics, baseball and San Francisco. When possible, I try to write about all these things together. I also evaluate US foreign assistance projects in different countries and teach political science at Columbia University. Isis is a nine and a half year old female goldendoodle. She is an extraordinarily mellow, sweet and even tempered beast.

What's the occasion for Coffee with a Canine?

I like this neighborhood café because they have great WiFi, good non-dairy drink options and mostly because they love dogs. I can come here to get out of the house for a few hours without having to leave Isis at home. Isis does not like being alone, so I try to take her with me as much as possible.

What's brewing?

Hot chocolate made with almond milk. I try to avoid dairy as much as possible, but love chocolate. Isis drinks water.

Any treats for you or Isis on this occasion?

I gave Isis her favorite fish treat, before we left the house. I think she might be part seal as she loves fish so much.

How were you and Isis united?

When my younger son was five, he asked if we could get a dog. He then asked every day for three more years. We finally gave in and said yes. I had never had a dog before, but decided that if we were going to get a dog, I would try to throw myself into the experience. My younger son and my mother are both allergic to dogs, so we had to get a hypoallergenic breed. It may have taken a full 45 seconds after meeting Isis before I fell in love with her. She and my younger son remain extremely close. That five year old boy is now a 6’3” high school senior, but he still sleeps with Isis in his bed many nights. My mother also adores Isis and brings her a bone every time she comes to New York from San Francisco to visit.

How did your dog get her name? Any aliases?

Well, if you name your dog Isis this question comes up a lot. She got the name Isis because my older son was 11 and studying Egyptian mythology in school when we started talking about dog names, so he proposed Isis. The rest of us thought it was a cool name and agreed. I also thought of the Bob Dylan song “Isis” which is a great tune. We call her a number of nicknames now because sometimes yelling “Isis!” in Central Park can create some problems. I call her Icy or Icicle a lot. Sometimes I call her Fierceness, for the same reason you call the bald guy curly.

Does Isis do more to help or hinder your writing?

She is a fantastic writing assistant. She is very quiet. She has never once barked when I am on a call or doing an interview. Every now and then she pokes her head between my arm and my chest when I am writing so I can pet her, but that is hardly a problem. Isis also forces me to get out of the house every 4-6 hours when I am writing no matter the weather. She loves the New York City winters unless it drops below ten degrees. However, she falls asleep on the job pretty much every day.

I'm aware Isis merits mention in your new book. Please tell us about San Francisco Year Zero.

San Francisco Year Zero is about San Francisco in 1978, but rather than focus on only the assassinations and Jonestown, I also examine the role of the nascent punk rock movement of that time and take a close look at the Giants 1978 season, when they were in first place for three months and for much of the year were the big story in the city. San Francisco Year Zero does more than just describe that extraordinary, tumultuous, exciting and tragic year. I also argue that the roots of the San Francisco of today, where social tolerance and some radical politics coincide with a real estate and tech driven economic boom that has created massive income inequality and myriad challenges related to that, has its roots in the events of 1978.

The book is well-researched, drawing on numerous sources including dozens of interviews with people ranging from Hank Greenwald to Jello Biafra to Allen Bennett, the rabbi at Sha’ar Zahav (the San Francisco synagogue Harvey Milk attended), but it is not academic in tone. Rather, it is an accessible non-fiction style that also has elements of first-person narrative as I grew up in San Francisco.

Cat, postman, squirrel...?

Isis loves to chase squirrels. Sometimes when I take her to Central Park for her midday walk, I let her go off-leash to chase squirrels, even though she is supposed to be on a leash at that hour. Tourists often stop and photograph this. Isis have never caught a squirrel and would have no idea what to do if she did.

Ball, squeaky-toy, stick...?

Isis will occasionally play with a ball, but she seems much more interested in her human and canine friends.

Who is Isis's best pet-pal?

Isis’s best friend is another goldendoodle with the unlikely name of Wrinkle Hot Dog Astronaut. Wrinkle’s family are very close relatives of ours, so the two dogs see each other a lot. Whenever one family goes out town and cannot bring the dog, the other family takes care of both dogs. Wrinkle is higher energy than Isis, but they have a lot of fun together.

What is Isis's best quality?

Isis has many fantastic qualities. She is very sweet, even tempered and playful. However, her best quality is how attuned she is to the emotional state of the people in her life. Twice since Isis has been part of our lives, I have lost close relatives. On both occasions, for days afterwards Isis was reluctant to leave my side and was extremely supportive of me and my family.

If Isis could change one thing about New Yorkers, what would it be?

I just asked her that question and she looked up and wagged her tail, so I have to try to interpret that. I suspect Isis would like New Yorkers to slow down a little bit so that they could pet her more when she goes out for walks. A lot of people stop to pet her, but amazingly, they all have things to do and cannot spend hours petting a dog they just met.

If Isis could answer only one question in English, what would you ask her?

I would ask her if there was anything I could do to make her life happier. I assume that because she is mellow, healthy and affectionate that she is happy, but I would like to know that for sure-and do what I could to make her happy if she is not.

If Hollywood made a movie about your life in which Isis could speak, who should voice her?

Dame Judi Dench would be great to voice Isis. I have learned that if you name your dog after a goddess, she acts like one. Dench’s imperious tone, but also comic timing, would reflect how Isis expects the world to come to her.

What advice would Isis give if asked?

For my son’s tenth birthday, Isis went to the pet store and bought him a dog tag that said “Be Here Now” on one side and “Roll With The Punches” on the other. That was Isis’s advice then. I suspect it is the same now.

Visit Lincoln Mitchell's website.

--Marshal Zeringue