Plume Award: Cate and Aurelia Bell

Cate and Aurelia next to one of their donations - THANK YOU!! Photos by Andy Lange

This month’s Plume Award is presented to the mother-daughter duo, Cate and Aurelia Bell, who recently donated two commercial-grade pet waste stations to the University Heights Community Association (UHCA). One of these stations has been installed at Texas & Meade, while the other is situated in the 4600 block of Park Blvd. Additionally, they donated two waste bins for existing bag dispensers located in the 1200 block of Johnson Ave. (adjacent to Buchanan Canyon), and another near the north entrance of the Vermont Street Bridge. The University Heights volunteers diligently empty these waste bins and restock the dispensers with clean bags to ensure a clean and pleasant environment for all residents.

Aurelia’s roots are in UH — she has lived her entire life here. She cares deeply about the health and integrity of the neighborhood, especially if it involves dogs. If she sees an off-leash dog wandering without its human, she will try to get it back to its home without incident. She will pick up other people’s abandoned dog poop, while complaining bitterly about it being left behind. But the beauty of the neighborhood matters more to her than the inconvenience (and grossness) of picking up stray dog poop. Oh, and she looks out for her human neighbors too.

Cate, a resident of UH for 38 years, cherishes the neighborhood’s transformation over the years. She firmly believes that UH stands for the best neighborhood in San Diego. Whenever she notices a neighbor’s car or garage door ajar, she promptly knocks on their door to alert them. Additionally, Cate assists Aurelia in returning wandering dogs whenever possible and listens to Aurelia’s exasperated complaints about stray dog poop. Furthermore, Cate diligently picks up any left-behind dog poop. Cate commented that she is “delighted by the strong and active community association and the crime watch program that we have.”