I was out with the dogs, scooping poop as we meandered down the street. The man carefully negotiated the turn on his motorbike and headed up the street toward us. He saw me bagging poop and, with a sympathetic grin, said, “That has to be the worst part of the job.” “Not even close,” I […]
Choosing Our Way in the New Economy
He didn’t mean to make me smile. He had been loitering by my shopping cart. We were both stocking up on office supplies. I was, as usual, simply exhausted by the choices. Wouldn’t life be easier if we didn’t have so much to choose from? Think about it. I do. A lot. Even choosing a […]
Living on the Planet of Awesome and Forever
I live on the Planet of Awesome and Forever. I have proof. Sometimes my planet is real and physical: I revel in the sun and rain, the dark and stormy, the people and the beings who make me laugh and think while challenging me to be my best, no matter what. Always my planet is […]
How an Eagle Kachina Accidentally Helped Build a Community
My mom loved Southwest art. My dad loved my mom. I loved them. When the eagle kachina dropped into our lives, I was greedily snatching as much time with them as I could, building memories. One day my dad called and said he’d found an art piece for mom. “Not like yours,” he said wryly. […]
If You Die Before They Do: Protecting Your Animal Family
I had the flu in February. Big time. Haven’t been that sick in years. Bad cough. High fever. So sick I needed help. I’m the only human in my multi-species family, so getting help was hard. Yes, I have friends to call, and no, I didn’t want to. The ‘flu’ (an epidemiologist told me they couldn’t […]
How a Company’s Raffle Prize Helped an Animal Shelter
On the weekend before the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show back in February I attended a pet writing conference in New York City, the day before I won the Merial Human-Animal Bond Award for my book, Bridging Species: Thoughts and Tales About Our Lives with Dogs. Yay! It was a fun weekend and I met […]
How We’ll Make the Economy Work Again
We’ll get the economy rolling again when we start taking it—and ourselves—seriously. That means we start saying ‘NO’ because we should have said that way back at some crazy point when buying things became convenient, and price and ethics didn’t matter. What is a fair price? What is a fair profit? How do we exchange […]
What Made My Deaf Dog Hear Again, Part 2
When my youngest dog, Alki, became deaf, I had to figure out how I could make him comfortable with his handicap. How to make us all comfortable: Alki, my nearly 10-year-old Cavalier; his 12-year-old Cavalier sister, Murphy; Grace the Cat; me; and friends, family, and visiting clients. We’re familiar with handicaps at our house: of […]
How Mall Dogs Trump Wolves
Survival of the fittest isn’t what you think it is. It depends on who you are and what you’re up to. I personally would not survive if I were a wolf and had to run down an elk or a rat. I wouldn’t even want to (either survive or hunt down anything but a cherry […]
What Made My Deaf Dog Hear Again, Part 1
My son is deaf. My youngest dog, my Velcro boy, my goofy sweet Alki, is stone cold deaf. It happened when I wasn’t looking. Somehow, the years between puppyhood and senior dog warped and folded in on themselves, and my little boy aged. It shocks me, really. Just yesterday he was an exuberant, mischievous puppy, […]