Blaming the dog

‘Tis the season for retrospectives, and I’ve been feeling pretty sorry for myself.  Many of my prime writing markets have disappeared this past year, or have stopped using freelancers. Yes, I wrote a dog book that’s been well received, and that’s exciting. So was launching this blog. But they don’t pay the bills and won’t…

The best medicine

One of my favorite books about animals is Tell Me Where It Hurts, by Dr. Nick Trout. Compressing a great many cases into one day of veterinary ER drama, Dr. Trout’s book is not only passionate, well written, and poignant but it explores our central frustration when dealing with illness in animals: They can’t express…

Driving Mister Frankie

Surfing dogs…best friends and our best friends…dog-loving restaurants and hotels… There’s much to tell (and show), but the San Diego adventure begins with — what else? — the story of driving with my car-averse pup. The drugs The day before we were scheduled to leave, I tried Xanax, the latest vet prescription, on Frankie. It…

He’s a dog, not a disease

I really didn’t want to blog about canine diabetes. Specifically, I didn’t want to create a site where people only came to discuss illness. I was terrified of having a comments section where all the avatars wore angel wings, and where the Rainbow Bridge was the most popular travel destination. And I especially didn’t want…