SFGate: Day in Pictures
Thursday, Jun. 21, 2012
Here's to you, Hazel! After 11 years of cheering up pediatric patients like 15-year-old Sydney Stevens, Hazel is retiring from Sutter Memorial Hospital in Sacramento. Instead of a gold watch, she was given an ice cream social party and plenty of belly rubs.
Solstice celebrants gather on a rocky crest filled with astronomical markers at the ancient megalithic observatory Kokino about 60 miles from Skopje, Macedonia. The site dates back more than 4,000 years ago.
Like the Pied Piper, an accordion player covered in rags leads a child away from Stonehenge in southern England during the longest day of the year.
Behave yourself! Something tells us that mother jaguar is in no mood for shenanigans at the San Diego Zoo.
A man on a camel rides past sand sculptures created by artist Sudarshan Pattnaik on the eve of the chariot festival in Puri, India.
New digs for an old cat: After 10 years at the San Francisco Zoo, Inti is moving to a public exhibit for the first time. Although named after an Incan sun god, Inti hasn't been interacting with his daytime visitors just yet because bobcats are typically nocturnal.
With friends like this ... A boy throws sewage water on his buddy as a joke during a protest in Cairo's Tahrir Square.
Precarious point-and-shoot: A man wanders dangerously close to the raging Miller Creek in West Duluth, Minn., for a photo op.
Everybody in! With temperatures in the high 90s, the coolest spot in this Philadelphia neighborhood is in the middle of the street.
Kitsap's bravest save the day: A house fire in Kitsap, Wash., sent two people to the hospital, but thanks to Fire and Rescue Lt. Ken Nilson, this little pooch wasn't harmed.
Did the Earth move for you? Activists at a "Global March" push the planet as part of the People's Summit for Social and Environmental Justice in Defense of the Commons in Rio de Janeiro.
Attention, Florida - puppy needs a home: The 1,000th dog rescued by Jeff Bennett, a volunteer pilot for the nonprofit charity Pilots N Paws, wears a celebratory pirate hat in Greenville, Ala. Bennett picked up 23 dogs that were scheduled to be euthanized and flew them back to Florida, where they will be put up for adoption.
Colorful croaker: On July Fourth, visitors to Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo will be challenged to find "Red, White and Blue" animals. They might want to start with the amphibian exhibit.
The lid on the Lab: At England's Royal Ascot horse racing meet, it's customary for ladies to wear outlandish hats - even lady service animals like Zoey.