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'Doggie Diner' head greets visitors

Is Jamis MacNiven, owner of Buck's restaurant in Woodside, to be blamed or credited?

A day before the Sept. 10 opening of a new Peninsula Humane Society animal shelter in Burlingame, a 5-foot-tall Doggie Diner head was put on display in the main lobby, where it now greets visitors.

Doggie Diner, a Bay Area fast food chain that went out of business in 1986, was instantly recognizable by signs with a giant red dachshund head with a bowtie and chef's hat.

While he isn't saying how the head wound up at the new shelter, Ken White, president of the Peninsula Humane Society, suggested Mr. MacNiven had something to do with it.

"Jamis is an eclectic guy with many talents and he loves the work we are doing," said Mr. White. "He could have hand-carved this giant head or won it in a poker game."

"It's like the opposite of a frat house prank," said Scott Delucchi Delucchi, spokesman for the society. "Instead of a mascot being stolen, we had one dropped off."

The new shelter is known as the Tom and Annette Lantos Center for Compassion. It's located at 1450 Rollins Road in Burlingame. Visiting hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends.