Justin was a six-year old boy who had spent five years, from age one to age six, in a kennel. His caretaker was not intentionally cruel, but was cognitively challenged, and had no idea how to raise a child. He felt it was best to care for him as he did his dogs. Justin and the dogs were fed, given shelter, let out of their kennels on a daily basis and give occasional moments of care and compassion. The rest of the day they were on their own. Child psychiatrist Bruce D. Perry, MD, PhD, met Justin after he'd been rescued and hospitalized. Justin's behavior was so disruptive--it included shrieking and throwing feces--that he was eventually kept in a crib with iron bars and a plywood cover. Perry remarked that the child was basically living in a dog crate. Again. In The Boy Who Was Read More
Archives for September 2015
Photos from Spain
Yup, well, Spain really IS wonderful. We first went to Barcelona, and wandered the narrow streets and alleys off La Rambla. La Rambla is a wide 'market' street full of touristy knick knacks and an infinite number of tourists to buy them. That sounds a bit harsh, but I'm just not a fan of crowded, noisy places, so take that with a grain of salt. But the small streets and open plazas around it were great fun. What was also wonderful was the food market on La Rambla. Admittedly, it too was crowded, but hey, it had food, which was not just tasty, it was gorgeous. This is all marzipan (I think...), but the market was full of fruit, meat (especially pork) and other delectable edibles. Even better was a day trip to the Costa Brava, where we hiked five or six miles along the coast. It was Read More
In Spain? Hope So!
Well, it's Sunday September 13th, and if our plans worked out, we just arrived in Spain. We are supposed to fly into Madrid early in the morning, and then take the fast train to Barcelona for a few days of vacationing. All the folks we know who have returned from Spain rave about the food, so I pretty much envision Jim and I eating our way from one side of Barcelona to another. (Note to Andy, my personal trainer: Do not read the above sentences, and do not ask me if I did my exercises while I was gone.) Thanks to Wikipedia for this photograph of Placa Reial in Barcelona. Maybe Jim and I are strolling here as you read this? On Friday the 18th we return to Madrid, and on Saturday evening I'll be giving a talk about our relationship with dogs, and the Spanish version of Love Has No Read More
What are You Reading? Watching?
I'm in a flurry getting ready to leave town for a wedding and our trip to Spain. So I'm putting this out to you, dear readers: What's on your book shelf? What DVDs are you loving right now? I just starting reading Sy Montgomery's The Soul of the Octopus, and it's so good that I resented having to get up and move on to other things. Sy is one of our country's most insightful writers about the natural world, and if you've never been fascinated by the intelligence of the amazing animals we call octopus, trust me, you will be before you've finished the first page. Sitting on my bed stand is Canine Nutrigenomics by Jean Dodds and Diana Laverdure, published by Dogwise. This is a book I should read, cover to cover. I tell myself this every day. It's primary topic is how diet affects gene Read More