I want to tell you about a horrible, horrible pet essay that is causing a flood of complaints. The essay,
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Saturday morning I got up and out of the house somewhat early for a meeting about a friend’s upcoming city council run for office, so I did NOT have time for photos. But, as I began throwing everything I needed for the meeting and a much-needed day of errands, including all of Lilly’s stuff, into the car, I found all manner of fast food stuff strewn across my backseat. My first thought was to blame my darling husband, but then I realized I’d likely tossed the bag of wrappers and condiment packets (full) into the rear and forgot them. What, …
I was away at college when my
family euthanized my childhood dog (Brandy, a cocker). They drew straws over
the holidays freshman year to decide who would tell me. I spent the following three years
sans canine companionship, but I swore someone – by golly – was getting me a dog
for graduation. My then-boyfriend, now-husband, obliged and in the spring of
1990, I adopted my first dog as an adult at the age of 22. She was a young
Dalmatian I named Penelope
Grace, and she provided lifelong adventures of both the veterinary and
behavioral variety.
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Even though this spring has been more like winter than winter was, I’m starting to see inklings of our summertime recall collapse, where suddenly Lilly acts like coming inside is a terrible-terrible thing in the late afternoon or evening. …
Last week, veterinary blogger Dolittler posted a piece entitled “Top 10 Pet Owner Excuses for Aggression in Dogs.” And,
while I understand the tone and intent, it made me feel really sad
because so many aggressive dogs are actually fearful dogs, who need help. I also noted
in my comment to her post that I felt terribly unwanted as a
veterinary client. It wasn’t so much what Dr. Patty Khuly wrote, but
some of the comments took blame and derision to a level I did not expect. For
example: …
Longtime readers know that Lilly and I often take little trips off the mountain for Mommy & Lil dates. We run errands. We take walks in town on busy paths. We share patio lunches at our favorite local restaurants that allow pups to dine outside. Now that the weather is warmer, we try to get out at least once a week. Even with spring barely underway here in the Rocky Mountains, we see more and more people and dogs out during our adventures — much more so than in the winter. Recently, a couple of things have really started to …
Lilly and I spent the better part of the weekend hanging out together outside. Even a border collie as intense as Lilly, eventually loses her sense of self consciousness when we’re just bumming around for hours on end. You see, having one of us around outside can be a novelty at first, but as time goes by, Lilly resorts to her natural behavior. And, I LOVE watching her just be herself. Sometimes, it’s super sweet to see her poking around. Other times, I realize just how smart she really is. …
Some day, I’ll be done grieving for Katie’s loss, even though I never really had her in the first place. In the meantime, I try to glean what I can from her encounters with Lilly … because really this has been a daily learning exercise. As promised, here is a recap (so far) of what spending so much time together has done for Lilly. …
I am devastated to report we have decided NOT to adopt
Katie, the beautiful, sweet, amazing Borzoi who has become Lilly’s best, best
friend over the last year. After several weeks of overcoming many dog-dog
obstacles, about which I am endlessly proud of all three dogs, the final
decision rests in my own human failings … as so many outcomes for pets do.
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We’ve been brainstorming why our house might make Katie nervous or wild. It’s hard since we’ve already eliminated or mitigated all the things that made Lilly a wreck, and she’s much more sensitive. So, it’s hard to think of new things. Here’s what we’ve come up with so far. …
