And from all accounts, she’s just as rambunctious as ever.

Her surfboard-stealing rampage in Monterey Bay during the summer of 2023, which caused her to be hunted down (but never caught) with the intention of re-homing her, was finally discovered to have been caused by — of all things — pregnancy hormones.

Well, she had her pup, and then apparently went off to winter somewhere else, as has been her habit. But this summer, she’s back at the Santa Cruz (California) surfing site known as Steamer Lane. And she seems to be up to her old tricks.

One observer — who couldn’t see her blue ID tag but was quite sure it was Laverna, as he had photographed her earlier — at one point viewed her “calmly cleaning herself atop a board she’d hijacked, which she shared peacefully with a gobsmacked surfer.” [Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, May 29, 2024.]

I’ll just bet that surfer was gobsmacked; I would be too. But I’d be glad to share my board with Laverna — I fell in love with her last year, and I’m thrilled to know that she made it through the winter and still wanted to return to her summer home.

Have a good rest-of-the-summer, ‘Verna, and come back any time. You may be pesky, but I’m sure that Santa Cruz still loves you.

And for all those surfer friends of yours, here’s a thought: How about taking up a collection and buying her a board of her own? I can imagine her excitement . . .

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
8/27/24