Some years I send out holiday cards to friends. Some years I don't. I like it best when I do... I like staying in touch with friends, and I love getting real mail in my mailbox instead of unwanted junk and wasted trees. However, I haven't even thought about cards so far this year; as often happens, I'll end up writing them after Christmas when I have time to savor writing them. However, it occurred to me that I have several kinds of friends now, and one important category is made up of you--the people who daily overwhelm me with their honesty, knowledge, intelligence and inspiration. Not to mention some truly kick ass senses of humor. Here's my holiday card to you, a collage of many of the photos I've used on cards in the past (that's Willie's uncle Luke and Pippy Tay with the sign, Read More
Archives for 2015
Holidays Schmalidays? (Fun with Gifts for Dog Lovers)
A long time ago, I made a commitment to avoid holiday overwhelm. In one sense, I can thank my parents for that—wonderful people who welcomed the Christmas season with angry fights over the placement of the Christmas tree and tears generated by present-wrapping-exhaustion in the early morning hours of Christmas Eve. Oh no, not me, I declared! I shall be above it all, I said, my wise benevolence shining from the halo over my head. Well, yes, I will admit, I have done relatively well with the whole holiday thing, managing to spend most of my energy savoring family and friendship and the joys of living that are available to all of us, regardless of our credit card balances. But last year I seemed to fall into the abyss, wrapping present after present late into the night, rewriting my To Do Read More
Pet Pals Portraits
On Sunday all the dogs in the Pet Pals Program came in for their twice annual vet check. It's fun for us because it's a great chance for us to say hello to the other teams and meet some of the new dogs. It's also a chance for me to play with my camera and take some photos of the remarkable dogs in this program. We see children and their families at the American Family Children's Hospital, many of whom are very ill or badly injured, and all of our dogs have to be quiet, sweet and basically bomb proof. I joke about them acting like "semi-stuffed dogs," but believe me, their hearts are all alive and beating with love. Here's to them, and all they do. Read More
When is it Acceptable to Break the Basic Rules of Dog Training?
Today's question was inspired by the comments of sheepdog trainer Patrick Shannahan, who argued at a recent sheep dog clinic that I needed to ask Maggie to "take responsibility" for her behavior. Eeeps! Isn’t that perspective one that trainers and behaviorists (me included) have been arguing against for decades? In most contexts, it is the last thing we should be doing. It calls to mind the ubiquitous comment “I KNOW he knows better!” when some poor dog pees on the rug because he’s never been house trained. Or the standard perception that dogs are jumping up even though they "know" they shouldn't—and if we just stopped coddling them they’d straighten up and behave. Perhaps the best extension of this misapplication of asking dogs to “take responsibility” is Will Ferrell’s Saturday Read More
What I’m Thankful For, 2015
I'm already feeling that "holiday buzz," during which it's easy to fall into feeling pressured about the special dinners and the houseguests and the gift list. I'm not immune, but one of the ways I try to counteract it is to stop and savor the multiple things that I am thankful for. Here's my own list, at least as it relates to my life with animals. I will read yours with pleasure and gratitude when I settle down several times a day with a cup of warm tea, and Tootsie snuggled on my tummy. I am grateful for Maggie’s ridiculous postures on the couch when she tries to seduce us into rubbing her belly for yet another fifteen minutes. Every time she goes all bendy on us, turning her body into something resembling a furry paperclip, Jim and I can’t resist laughing. I am grateful for Read More
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