Accurate, timely, and inspiring news & resources for dog lovers
Champion of My Heart
An Award-Winning Dog Site by Roxanne Hawn
Written from the Colorado Rocky Mountains
With fans and friends around the world
Champion of My Heart launched in April 2007.
Forget DOG YEARS. That’s an EON AGO in publishing.
We’re kinda famous for a few popular resources!
Canine Relaxation Protocol Audio Files
The relaxation protocol is considered baseline work for serious behavior modification training, but many people use it for more everyday purposes for dogs of all ages.
Adverse Vaccine Reaction Archives
Lilly, the original canine heroine of Champion of My Heart, died December 17, 2013, following a 23-month fight for her life — after she suffered a severe adverse rabies vaccine reaction.
Heart Dog: Surviving the Loss of Your Canine Soul Mate
With such great love comes epic grief after your Heart Dog dies. Even if you’ve experienced pet loss before, life without your canine soul mate is much harder. Typical grief advice isn’t enough.
Champion of My Heart Origins
TL/DR version: Dogs often earn “championships” of all kinds in a variety of dog sports and other competitive venues. For many, including probably my dogs, that’s unlikely … and yet … they remain the champions of my heart.
Spay / Neuter Resources
It’s a big deal to decide when to spay or neuter your dog. The answer often depends on your dog’s breed and size and other potential risk factors – while also avoiding unplanned breeding.
Understanding Parvo Puppies
Parvovirus is a super deadly disease that mostly affects puppies, including some who’ve been vaccinated. Get accurate info about all that, including from personal experience.
Chronic Bladder Infections in Puppies
If your female puppy constantly gets bladder infections (urinary tract infections), there’s a likely reason — without a simple solution.
Puberty in the Female Dog
In many cases, there are good reasons to let your young female dog go through one heat cycle. Learn from our experience because we were total newbs.
Dog DNA Tests
We’ve done various / numerous dog DNA tests over the years. Find out what we liked (and didn’t), and why some of the DNA information is critical to know — in addition to other details that are fun to know too.
Neutropenia in Dogs
Our eldest dog, Clover, went through a number of years with weirdly low neutrophil counts. It started when she was barely 2 years old, and we did all the tests, trying to figure out what the heck. Here’s how that went.
Recent Articles
- Adverse Drug Reactions Under Reported
Having been through a lengthy, expensive, and devastating experience with an adverse rabies vaccine reaction with our original canine heroine, Lilly, I felt a little sick when I saw reports of under reporting of adverse drug reactions. The study was based in the United Kingdom, but I think we can assume similar gaps exist in the United States too. Before you read the rest of this post, make a guess in your mind about how stark the under reporting is. I guarantee it’s worse than you think. (Also, this post includes info on how to report adverse drug reactions in pets.) - Is Vaping Near Pets Dangerous?
There’s a joke in the journalism world about headlines that ask questions. Why? Because the answer is almost always no. It has a lot to do with headlines being framed as clickbait. That is not the case here. The answer is a big YES. Indeed, vaping near pets can put them at risk, especially if the area is not well ventilated. Here’s why and what to look for. - For the Love of Dog Book Review
If you’ve ever wondered how we ended up with the dogs we love at our sides, what we know about their unique abilities (thanks to science), and how they help us survive all the things, then I hope you enjoy this For the Love of Dog book review. The book is part memoir, part research paper, and part life stress and pet loss treatise. It’s written by Maggie Marton, who also authors “Oh My Dog!” She’s a pal and a colleague; a dog and kiddo mom extraordinaire; dog nerd and cancer survivor. She understands and reveals a lot in this book. It’s subtitle is How Dogs Think and the Unbreakable Bond That Connects Us. You will cry a little. I did. But, you will also laugh out loud and learn a lot. - Why Cancel Pet Insurance
As of mid-September 2025, I canceled our pet insurance renewal — after having policies on all 3 dogs since the day we adopted them (11 years ago for Clover, as an example). A 65% increase up to $556/month premium is too much. I wrote the following at the time. As a pro writer in the veterinary / pet space for 30 years, as someone who understands more than most about the true costs of providing veterinary care, as one of the best Dog Moms you’d want as a veterinary client, I say this … if/when you lose me, that’s a bad sign. Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about the whole pet insurance situation these days. - Private Equity Veterinary Hospitals, New Searchable List
A famous, longtime writer in the veterinary space who I follow online shared a link to a new site that lets you search for private equity veterinary hospitals in the U.S. and U.K. When the big corporate consolidators, or corporations that own a lot of veterinary hospitals, buy what was once a privately owned veterinary hospital, they often do not change the name of the practice. Until now, it was also hard to know if that big company is actually owned / funded by private equity. It’s affecting veterinary patient care, client service, and even doctor and staff retention and morale. This quick post also includes links to documentaries on the effect of private equity ownership of newspapers and other news organizations. - Canine Cognitive Decline Guidelines
When I saw the headline that an international working group recently published canine cognitive decline guidelines, I thought — “perfect timing” — since we adopted a very old, frail, and often confused dog a while back + our other dogs are getting older too. When I read that the guidelines included a diagnostic flowchart, I got super excited. Except, now that I’ve read the paper and looked at the flowchart, it’s not as helpful (to me personally) as I’d hoped. That said, it includes good info about behavior changes to monitor and how to rank their severity over time. Toward the end, I include details and accommodations we’ve made for the Old Man Dog. - Police Officer Shot and Killed a Dog in Wheat Ridge Colorado
Monday, September 1, 2025, around 9:45 am, an officer from the Wheat Ridge Police Department in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, shot and killed a pet dog. That dog’s name was Boss. He lived near a highway exit with his owner, Dave, who is experiencing homelessness. I learned about the case on Friday, September 5, 2025, from my veterinarian, who provided veterinary care for Boss. I looked into the case because Boss’s life matters. He lived and died in my community, and that matters to me on both small and big scales. Unfortunately, Boss is a painful example of something that’s shockingly common. Police shoot and often kill dogs more frequently than you might think. So, in Boss’s memory and to tell a story that, so far, no other local media has covered, I’m writing about some really difficult things. This is long, but I hope you will read it and share it. - WinterTide Book Review
Winter finally started at Chez Me this week. So, maybe it’s a good time to talk about my pal Brette Sember’s new book called WinterTide: Survive and Thrive in the Year’s Coldest, Darkest Season. Brette grew up near Buffalo, New York, so she knows winter. A bunch of the book’s recommendations also come from her trip to Iceland. So fun. Learned a lot! Our first real snow finally fell a couple days ago, which is really late for us. Really late. So, to be honest, between the snow, cold, and wind + feeling trapped inside by lack of shoveling, I’m feeling a little stabby about winter already. That can’t be good. - Heart Dog Audiobook Now Available
!! Heart Dog Audiobook Now Available !! I know everyone is busy getting ready for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, so just a quick note to let you know that the audiobook version of Heart Dog: Surviving the Loss of Your Canine Soul Mate is now available on many audiobook platforms. This was a big goal for me in 2025 to record and edit it myself (after taking an online class this spring that I purchased in 2024). A lot of people lose their dogs this time of year, so perfect timing. I hope.
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