FROM RATTING TO WRITING

February has arrived, with its daffodils pushing up from the earth here in Northern California, and its heavy drifts of snow where some of my friends live in New England. Regardless of location, all of us remind ourselves that the new season is just around the corner, whether we do so with the despair of…

Read More

WHY CAN’T A HUMAN BE MORE LIKE A DOG?

A number of weeks ago I wrote about the four “A”s that fulfill the needs of our hearts: Attention, Affection, Appreciation and Acceptance. My Thanksgiving newsletter, “Turning the Wild Animals Loose,” described the ways in which I have often had trouble accepting the problems that come my way. Since then, I have been working on…

Read More

BARKING BACK AT THE CHALLENGES OF LIFE

In September of 2014, Bespotted appeared in the bookstores. My close friends, and both new and old readers, congratulated me on a job well done. To my surprise, Amazon recommended the book as a “Hot New Release,” my publisher took it back for a second printing, dog lovers bought it, and I received a lot…

Read More

WRAPPING IT UP!

At this time of year most of us are buying and wrapping multiple gifts. We are focused on all the happiness that the season can bring, and not much on its complications. We plan how to decorate our homes and our trees and what will accompany the roast beef for Christmas dinner. We don’t often…

Read More

THE TRUE SPIRIT OF THE SEASON

While for some people December is a season of joy, filled with the happiness of giving and receiving, it can be a tough time of year for others. Amidst the happy revelers ringing their bells and singing their carols, and among those who live for and love the holidays, there are those who walk alone…

Read More

TURNING THE WILD ANIMALS LOOSE

We are having ten people for Thanksgiving dinner, a mix of family and new friends, and unfortunately my dogs are not quiet and relaxed when people arrive. Like many Dalmatians, they bark and bark and work up a storm around the visitors, acting like a bunch of wild animals. Everyone invited will be overwhelmed as…

Read More

PUPPIES DESERVE MORE THAN GIFT WRAP

I continued my publicity tour for Bespotted last week and encountered a question I did not find surprising, but which was unanticipated nevertheless. ”After the re-release of 101 Dalmatians,” asked a member of the audience at a bookstore reading, “wasn’t there a run on the breed that resulted in nasty temperaments and a lot of…

Read More

DOES MY DOG MISS ME WHEN I AM AWAY?

Who misses you when you are away? Sometimes your husband does–sometimes, even though it means an end to suppers built around potato chips and soda in front of the football game. How about your children, whose curfews are once again enforced and who will now be required to eat a substantial breakfast rather than a…

Read More

REMEMBER HEART DOGS YOU HAVE LOVED

How many of us have had what is called a “heart dog?” Tons of those reading this, I suspect. If you have finished, or are in the middle of, Bespotted, you will have discovered the inimitable Gulliver, to whom I dedicate the book as “dog of my heart,” which means the same thing. Some of…

Read More