Sept. 20, 2013 I am re-posting this review of Kerasote’s book largely because it covers the complex issue of early spay-neuter, which is beginning to be discussed on forums and, thankfully, between families and their veterinarians. I will continue to post on this topic: if you live with animals, you have a moral responsibility to […]
dog care
Getting Well with a Little Help from My Friends
Our animal families matter, and so do our kids. Here is Alki, recovering from a severe illness, if you ever recover from inflammatory bowel disease and pancreatitis, let alone long-term kidney disease. We remember that age doesn’t always bring illness, but when it does it also reminds us that we have lived a long life, […]
Profiling Animal Communicator Joan Ranquet’s Book, Communication with All Life
I’m always curious about what makes people tick: how do they choose their work in the world, and what does it mean? I’m even more curious when they write a book and I get a chance to review it. Does the book make a difference? Does the writer? I’m happy to say, in this case, […]
Friendly Animals
What a Multi-Species Family Looks Like
Simple Steps to Deepen the Bond Between People and Animals
How do we deepen the bond between humans and animals? Start with this handout I gave away at a recent seminar on this topic moderated by noted animal communicator Joan Ranquet. Mindset Change your mindset, change your world. When we look at the world as equals, we learn that humans aren’t in charge of the world, we’re […]
Pet Guardianship: What Happens When Your Animals Outlive You?
I ended up in the ER on a Sunday evening last month. While I was facing a potentially serious health crisis, there was one thing I didn’t worry about: my dog, Alki, and Grace the Cat were provided for. Sort of. That’s what the human-animal bond, my concept of multi-species families, includes: taking care of […]
My Dog Is Dying: The Real Life Crappy Choice Diary, Entry 21 (How the Human-Animal Bond Meets, and Survives, Death)
It’s hard to say goodbye to a beloved animal companion. It’s harder to live the goodbye. Murphy and I managed to live our goodbye, accompanied by Alki and Grace the Cat. We found the courage, fortitude, and love to fully and gracefully embrace it, adding depth to the many years we’d shared. It’s not easy, […]
“Murphy’s Choice”—Save Our Dogs
I know, wishful thinking that this is the face of the last dog who died from splenic cancer. Truth is, splenic cancer is epidemic in the United States. They say they don’t know why, but they are lying to us. It’s early spay/neuter. Yes, early spay/neuter is causing splenic cancer in our dogs. Maybe other […]
Our Birthday Wish for Your Animal Family
Today, July 16, 2012, my beloved Murphy would have been 14 years old. Instead, I lost her on March 8, 2012, to splenic cancer, one of many diseases I now learn is linked to early spay/neuter. Yes, my grief is compounded because I did what the animal care community, from veterinarians to shelters to breeders, […]