One year ago today, we said goodbye to Kekoa. After a month of bucket list indulgences going from kale to turkey and then, that day, chocolate chip bacon ice cream, I said I love you one last time. We pet owners talk a lot about heart dogs, that dog who just 'got' you, the dog who changed you and will never, ever be replaced (you can substitute dog for any pet, of course.) And once you have a heart dog, once you lose a heart dog, you may wonder if you will ever have another one again. I'm ... Read more »
heart pets
Guest Post: Pudgy and Pals
As we know, heart pets come in all shapes and sizes. This hour, my friend Heather Wilson shares how her heart pet Pudgy changed her life and led her to write her very first book celebrating diversity. I love Pudgy and Pals! A bearded dragon changed my life. Five years ago had you told me I’d utter those words and mean them so fervently, I’d tell you that you lie like a rug. I met Pudgy for the first time after walking up a stairwell filled with darkness. Seems so ominous, I ... Read more »
Heart Pet Day
I don't think it's the most politic of things to say, but sometimes we play favorites in life. I'd like to think I'm above that, but I'm so totally not. Emmett was my favorite dog. I love all of my pets, past and present, with all of my heart, but the bond we had was something special. It is the kind of understanding that is impossible to explain unless you've experienced it, and I say it as someone who's had pets all her life. I get all of my pets inside and out. But this one got me, and ... Read more »
Heart Pet Day is July 21
I bet you didn't know that, did you? That's because I just made it up. It's the two year anniversary of the day my own heart pet passed on, but I've found that the best salve to a broken heart is to commiserate with others who understand that loss. There is sadness, but also joy, in hearing about the bonds you all have shared with those you loved as well. I really loved putting together the video last year of everyone's heart pets, and I'll make sure I re-post that on Thursday. But I'd like ... Read more »
The heart dog post: it never goes away
It's funny how grief works, isn't it? After my grandmother died, I was devastated. But I also felt kind of numb- her illness had been going on for so long, and her suffering so great, that it was both a blessing and a terrible sadness to see her go. I was in the card section of the store looking for something to give to my grandfather. I can't figure out how a piece of paper could possibly contain a lifetime of memories, envelop what she has meant to me in a piece of cardboard that I then ... Read more »
