Author: Roxanne Hawn

Trained as a traditional journalist and based in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, USA, I'm a full-time freelance writer for magazines, websites, and private clients. My areas of specialty include everything in the lifestyles arena, including health and home, personal finance and other consumer interests, relationships and trends, people and business profiles ... and, of course, all things pet related. I don't just love dogs. I need them in my life. Seriously.

  • And, the pharmacists laughed

    Last Thursday, I drove to my local big-name pharmacy to pick up Lilly’s anti-depressants. I had a long list of errands, so I swung through the drive-through. One of the 3 pharmacy people I could see through the huge window approached. She picked up the phone on her side so that she could speak to and hear me. I gave her Lilly’s name and the name of the veterinary hospital that called in the prescription. She disappeared to pull the bag from the shelves, then approached the two other women, said something, and all three laughed.

  • Smarty-pants matrix

    The research that first ranked dog breeds by intelligence
    essentially measured how many exposures it took for various dogs to
    learn something new. Border collies, as you’ve likely heard, were
    (and often are) touted as the “smartest” dogs. Now, I don’t know
    about smartest … as in smarter than every other dog in the world,
    but Lilly is very smart, and she is certainly smarter than any dog
    I’ve had. …

  • Stage mom?

    I know that my non-agility friends don’t get it. I’m quite convinced they are quite convinced that I’m a total stage mom. Those of you with performance dogs (not pets) understand the distinction. We know and love our dogs in ways others likely do not understand. That said, don’t you ever look at your furry star and think, “Man! She ought to be in pictures …”?

  • Flood

    It’s been a wet summer here, which is somewhat unusual in the high,
    often dry Rocky Mountains. Other places in the country easily get
    2, even 4 inches of rain regularly, but around here, that’s a BIG
    deal. Last week, for the first time in our nearly 6 years in this
    house, we had a full-blown flash flood in the creek that cuts
    through our property. My husband was gone and had the camera at the
    time, but I went out after the storm passed and recorded this.

    …

  • Honor Stink Eye

    Last week, Lilly went to the doctor for a major blood draw in
    preparation for our experiments with anti-depressants for her. Even
    though there are no indications (other than behavior challenges) of
    illness, we wanted to be extra sure. So, we ran about $150 worth of
    blood tests. All is well, but after Lilly went back with the
    veterinary nurses, she came back with a classic case of Stink Eye.
    …

  • Mountain dog goes to town

    Lilly and I ventured to a high-use public park in Denver over the
    weekend to visit some friends from out of town. Since I often
    lament Lilly’s reactions to various stimuli, I must say that she
    took the park and all its hubbub in stride. Imagine a dog who lives
    in a pretty quiet rural community going to the big city. If she
    were typing today, I suspect she’d have amusing thoughts on the
    things she saw. What might a smart, sensitive dog like Lilly
    believe when she sees a group of grown people bashing an
    alligator-shaped pinata with a …