My First Pet

As long as I can remember I’ve wanted a dog. In preschool when I was around three-years-old we had the assignment to write out our Christmas present wish list. A dog was at the very top of mine. At first my wish for a dog might have just been the childish desire for one that many kids get, but my love of animals has never gone away. Unfortunately, my parents were never very interested in the work most pets, cats and especially dogs, entailed, especially as they knew that a child of my age wouldn’t end up taking any real … Continue reading →

Pet Commemoration

On Wednesday I revealed that my sister-in-law gave my husband and me a pet-themed gift as one of our wedding presents. Well, she gave us more than just the book on games to play with your dog. She also gave us a little kit for making paw print molds from our future cat and dog. My sister-in-law knew we planned to adopt both a dog and a cat, so she included a gift that would work for either of them. She has three cats herself, so she also understands how deeply attached one can get to pets. The packaging for … Continue reading →

Life Without Murphy

Life without Murphy hasn’t been very much fun. “Wait a second,” you might be wondering. “Life without Murphy? Where did he go?” The Surgery We dropped him off at the specialist’s office early Wednesday morning for his paw surgery. Luckily Wayne was able to come with. Turns out we needed each other. It was surprising how much we both broke down once the vet tech came and escorted Murphy away. I think I’d always get nervous if any of my pets had to go into surgery, but I think I get especially nervous because my beloved Mackie died after what … Continue reading →

Pet Tattoos

I was paging through a recent edition of BARK magazine and couldn’t help but notice a feature article about pet tattoos. Not tattoos FOR pets — people who get tattoos of their pets. It seems that there are lots of people out there choosing to get a tattoo to memorialize a lost pet, or just express love for a current pet. The article had pictures of a variety of styles, from full color portrait to cartoonish puppies playing. There was even a cute one of a stick-figure human with a ponytail chasing after a stick-figure dog. I also liked one … Continue reading →

The Day Miko Picked Me

April 25th, 2000 is the day that I went to Jersey Shore Animal Center in Brick, New Jersey to pick out a dog. My dog. The first dog that wasn’t a family dog — he or she would be mine and mine alone. For weeks before I went to the shelter, I had been dreaming about dogs. Big dogs, mostly. Some looked like Irish wolfhounds, with long legs and kind eyes. Some looked like malamutes or huskies. Some were fierce protectors. All were loyal friends. I was sure I was going to find one of the dogs from my dreams … Continue reading →

Looking Backward: Shashi

When I was a very little girl, my mother still had her German shepherd dog, Shashi. At least… that’s what we all called her. Her official name was Wildwoods Scheherazade, and she was a purebred, papered, pedigreed shepherd my mom had bought after she graduated college. When my mom was getting ready to get married and move out, my great-grandmother refused to let Shashi leave — so the dog stayed with my grandmother and great-grandmother. Shashi was a beautiful all-black shepherd. We have all sorts of funny family stories about her. She was so scared of thunder and lightning that … Continue reading →

Squirrel Appreciation Week: Remembering Rudy First

Earlier this year I wrote about how what you think about grows and how thoughts attract things. In that case it was how Murph must think about nice people and pets because he always seems to attract them. But it’s happened to me before too. In honor of Squirrel Appreciation Week, I thought I’d share the tale of Rudy First. The Fall Shortly before the bands of Hurricane Frances wreaked havoc on the neighborhood where we lived in Jacksonville, a funny thing happened. I kept hearing people tell stories about seeing baby squirrels or coming across them somehow. I lamented … Continue reading →

Miko’s Personality Flaw

Four years ago today, my dog Miko passed away peacefully in his sleep. I’ve mentioned him here before — his adventures at the dog park, how he picked me out at the shelter, and our last days together. He was a great dog, full of personality and so very smart. He dazzled the family with tricks from the first night he was home. But if he had one flaw, it was in his digestive tract. When Miko was nervous… man that dog could pass gas! We first noticed it in his first few months with us. Miko could clear a … Continue reading →

Murphy and Kitty and a Hurricane Named Frances

Just as September always reminds me of hurricanes, I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to spend another Labor Day Weekend without remembering Labor Day 2004. Lights Out, Uh Huh, Dance, Dance, Dance! At one p.m. on Labor Day 2004 the electricity went out. It would not come back on for another three and a half days. I was napping on the couch, and I think Wayne was too, when the commotion started. Sirens, to be exact. We woke to see neighbors running up the street. We went out to investigate the brew ha-ha and learned a branch had fallen … Continue reading →

In Memoriam: Jacques Cousteau

“When you dive, you begin to feel that you’re an angel.” ~Jacques Cousteau Before there was the “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin, there was Jacques Cousteau. Heck, the Steve Irwin’s of the world may have come to be because of Jacques Cousteau. Ten years ago today, June 25, 1997, Commander Cousteau (as he was known to many around the world), succumbed to a heart attack and died. I wanted to write to honor him today because I remember “The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau” and how it captivated my then young mind and imagination. His passion and love for the water … Continue reading →