Dear Goddamned Dog, I’m writing now as I will from now on, to the empty corners of every room, to the dozen years past, to the millions of things and places that will forever remind me of you. Though your world got smaller these last few years, this house was …
Standing in the gap between 2015 and 2016, circling slowly, I see all the things that matter to me frozen in that moment of time. One son in the air between Colombia and Chile, flying dark skies over treacherous mountains, fireworks exploding below as he makes his way to the bottom of …
The first time I saw Addie in person she was nine weeks old and shrieking to get out of the crate she’d been flown to me in. I opened the door to the crate and welcomed her to my comforting arms – which she completely ignored, preferring instead to head toward …
It’s not that I’m anti-Christmas, it’s just that it confuses the hell out of me. To say I’m not a religious person is to say the Sahara isn’t wet. And it should be offensive to anyone’s sensibilities that the whole country and much of the world essentially shuts down due to …
Being Ramón’s daughter you get used to certain things: really bad math jokes (and the concept that “math” and “joke” can even be in the same sentence); specific other jokes being told at least four times a year at family gatherings (Guy sits down at a restaurant and says, “Waiter, I’d like …
This year, as in other years in the past, I decided to give a monthly, year-long donation to two charities in lieu of the usual gifties to friends and acquintances. While most of my professional life has been devoted to improving conditions for companion animals, in reality I work mostly …
I really intended my next post to be more upbeat and positive – it’s been a lot of loss and death and gloom lately, I know. But Facebook wrecked that – well, actually someone named Trish did with the photo she posted of her holding her sweet old dog, now gone …
A week ago a pal and colleague was found dead by her own hand, done in a merciless way and leaving literally thousands of her friends and fans shocked, saddened and at a loss to explain what had happened. Early the next morning I was one of a handful of people …
Robin Williams killed himself yesterday. We are shocked, stunned, hurt, and so very sad – but we aren’t surprised. We can’t possibly be surprised. Anyone familiar with the miserable illness that took him knows that every day is a brave decision. Everyone gets tired. The question is always how soon you’ll …
There is nothing more to say than thank you. I love you. Fingers digging through soft, deep fur and the comforting heft of shoulders that have walked along side for so many years. A few last, precious licks onto bare toes resting on weary legs. A deep inhale of everything familiar as tears fall for the …