Neutropenia in Dogs – A Clover Update
June 20, 2017, Clover had a bone marrow biopsy at Wheat Ridge Animal Hospital in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. It took longer than expected to get the full biopsy results from the veterinary pathologist at the…
Author Archives: Roxanne Hawn
Dog Tribute Jewelry Time is a Gift
Quick reminder that the little online dog memorial or tribute jewelry party we're hosting ends next Friday, July 14. Originally, I was thinking only about creating something treasured to wear after you've lost a dog, but…
Terrible Twos Tori Style
Welcome to the Terrible Twos! The amazing and silly Tori Autumn Hawn turns 2 on Saturday, July 1, 2017. We picked that day by counting back 12 weeks from when we adopted her. As has…
Dog Memorial Jewelry New Option
In Chapter 5 of Heart Dog: Surviving the Loss of Your Canine Soul Mate, I recommend getting a piece (or several pieces) of dog memorial jewelry so that you have a wearable symbol to keep…
Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce Stress Buster
I originally found this homemade hot fudge sauce recipe from a quick online search, but it wasn't turning out quite right. I asked for help inside a great Facebook Group led by a friend, colleague,…
Teeter-Totter Training Update – Dog Agility
It took a while to find a used dog agility teeter-totter to buy, but we finally did just before Clover's third birthday. It's going to take some time to fix Clover's teeter-totter worries that have…
Your Earlobes Aren’t Worried – A Tip From the Anxiety Trenches
I promise the silly title is worth it. You see, I'm increasingly amped up about a number of real-life things, but I recently developed a new coping mechanism for worry.
Neutropenia in Dogs – A Clover Mystery
Neutropenia in dogs - Our saga with Clover's weird white blood cell counts continues, so we saw a board-certified veterinary internal medicine specialist (the same one who helped us with Clover's non-stop UTIs as a…
Dog Birthday Party Clover’s Big 03
Saturday, May 27, is Clover's third birthday. Already! So how is a Dog Mom supposed to celebrate our amazing birthday dog? With dog birthday party cupcakes, an exciting new present (woot!), and with another dog…
2 Feet of Snow in May
Really. We got about 2 feet of snow late this week. These big storms are more common in March and April, but we have had at least some snow as late as Memorial Day. Here…
Never Mind – A Tale of Dog Agility Woe
Remember me saying that Clover and I had plans to take a big step in her dog agility training? Yeah. Never mind. We're not ready, at all. True story. Our first-ever agility seminar turned into…
Dog Blood Work Update and Worry
Remember I said back in March that we did NOT think a new dog supplement was causing Clover's weird dog blood work problems? Perhaps premature. We tested Clover's blood again last week, nearly a month…
Big Barker Dog Bed Review
Big Barker asked us to take part in their #SleepLikeYourDog challenge. Big thanks to them for the FREE bed to try out. Here is our Big Barker dog bed review video and more, featuring our…
Start of Clover’s Dog Agility Career (maybe)
When Clover was around 7 months old, I put her on a waiting list to get into a dog agility foundations class with a trainer my experienced agility friends recommended. A full SEVEN MONTHS LATER…
Happy 10th Anniversary Champion of My Heart
April 13, 2017, marks the 10th anniversary of Champion of My Heart. No kidding. Our first blog post went live a decade ago. I'd been mulling the idea for a while, and on a bit…
The Genius of Cause Marketing
Do you know the term cause marketing? It essentially means companies do good work, fund good ideas, or support non-profit efforts. In some cases, big companies create their own foundations. In other cases, they boost…
Stand-Up Paddleboarding With Your Dog Tips
I met Maria Christina Schultz through a mutual friend recently. She is doing great things — publishing books, speaking at events, representing top dog brands online and such. If you are interested at all in…
A Proper Thank You Note and Clover Medical News
We received an early morning call from Clover's veterinarian with her latest blood work results. It's good news.
Dog Blood Work Why Do It on Young and Healthy Dogs
Question: Why would you routinely do dog blood work on young and seemingly healthy dogs? Answer: Because sometimes you find things and can catch them before the medical issue gets worse. This appears to be…
Book Review How to Get Custody of Your Dog
Brette Sember is a prolific writer on topics as wide ranging as cookbooks and co-parenting to all manner of real-world legal things. Her newest book would come in handy if you're getting divorced and want…
Canine Car Sickness An Update
When a puppy gets car sick, many tell you that the puppy will outgrow it. And, you hope. Then, reality sets in. With Tori's second birthday coming up in July, we've renewed our pursuit of…
Book Review Symptoms to Watch for in Your Dog by Jana Rade
Jana Rade is a dog blogger and moderator of a Dog Health Issues Group on Facebook with more than 10,000 members. She has written quick-reference guide that I highly recommend. Here is my book review…
Annual Cost of Having a Dog
My friends tease me about keeping a financial spreadsheet for how much I spend on my dogs each year. They argue it's better NOT to know. Funny, right? Nothing will ever compare to the nearly…
Loose Leash Boot Camp for Dogs
Over the holidays, I went back to walking Clover and Tori separately. Since cold temps and icy roads kept us home, we mostly worked on our own driveway -- with some short stints up to…
Common Disinfection Mistakes
I've been sick for 10+ days with my second major respiratory virus this winter. It reminded me that I've been wanting to share this cleaning advice for months. I wrote a big project in 2016…