Landmark days—those days that hold special meaning in our lives—are times to stop and celebrate and remember. They are the days that build families and communities—in multi-species families, they include adoption days, birthdays, breakthroughs, and deaths. I remember the day I figured out what the book about my life with Murphy was all about. I […]
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Eagles, Fish, Dogs, and Turkeys: Persistence Pays Off
Last year we had a few months that were both fun and hard at our house. Fun because I met wonderful people at writing events and at intuitive events with my crystal partner, Fallon. People who make me believe that community is possible and present and glad that I keep trying. No matter what. […]
My Dog Is Dying: The Real Life Crappy Choice Diary, Entry 17
Where does choice take us when we live multi-species family lives? When I learned my beloved dog, Murphy, most likely had splenic cancer, I knew that our long journey together was ending. You don’t beat splenic cancer, you just delay the inevitable, and not usually for very long. The problem is, when you find it early, […]
My Dog Is Dying: The Real Life Crappy Choice Diary, Entry 16
How do we walk that last mystery of life with our beloved animal companions? How does the human-animal bond end? I write this as our mystery is over: I lost my dying dog, my beloved Murphy, on March 8, 2012. I continue with our diary because her life ran out before our story did, and […]
My Dog Is Dying: The Real Life Crappy Choice Diary, Entry 15
How civilized are we, really? As things stand in our society, grief is a reality largely reserved for humans. By humans. My grief is not. Neither is my family’s. I was at an expo last weekend in Portland, a place where people come together to celebrate and explore metaphysics, from crystals to healing arts to […]
Daily Rituals with Our Animals: Saving the World One Family at a Time, Update 3-2012
I first published this article on January 17, 2011. On March 8, 2012, the story changed: that was the day I lost my beloved Cavalier, Murphy. In the coming days and weeks I will have much to say about grief, dying, death, and loss, but for now, perhaps this says it best. Twice a day […]
My Dog Is Dying: The Real Life Crappy Choice Diary, Entry 13
So here we are, at Part 4 of a four-part series on dying dogs and veterinarians. Like life, the series hasn’t been quite linear, so you can find the other parts in this diary here: Entry 6, #1, where we lose our long-time vet; Entry 8, #2, where we meet up again with a former […]
The Alchemy West Committee at Work
There is a thing called the Alchemy West Committee. It is a real group, a business and life group, and not what you’d generally expect in either—because it includes me (a human), my animal family, two volcanoes, a beach, our condo, our car, my crystal partner Fallon, all my crystal friends, guides, and, well, all […]
My Dog Is Dying: The Real Life Crappy Choice Diary, Entry 11
We were just sitting on the deck together, and I was reminding Murphy of the very first time we were in that exact same position: back in October 1998, when she’d just come home to live with me. She was 11 weeks old, my introduction to Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. Today she is over 13-1/2, and […]
My Dog Is Dying: The Real Life Crappy Choice Diary, Entry 9
Yes, my beloved Murphy is dying. I have to say, it’s weird. I am no stranger to death. I lost my brother when I was only 9, and he was 14. The losses cascaded over the years: friends, family, animals. Each death affects us differently. Of course, there’s the manner of death. Sudden unexpected death […]