My first year of practice, I was talking to an owner in an exam room when I saw her eyes go wide and she yelled, "SPIDER!" I looked down and saw a large arachnid crawling across the table towards her poodle. Without missing a beat, I grabbed a large drug compendium and put an end to the assault. The lady looked up, cocked her head, and said, "I guess you don't love all the animals, then." I felt terrible, actually. My grandmother would not have approved. She would capture daddy longlegs in ... Read more »
love
Love Is…Making Moments
I've learned a lot in the process of writing this book, going back and reflecting on what three very special dogs have done for me in my life. It's almost done, the first draft at least, and I can rest easy knowing that if I get hit by a bus tomorrow there's enough for a talented editor to work with so that this, at least, will live on. Happy Valentine's Day, by the way. Speaking of dying and all of that, though, the one thing that really jumped out at me when I was writing, and just living ... Read more »
Celebrate Love
Friday, 11:30 am. I'm wandering the halls of the Orlando Convention Center as it's gearing up for this weekend's Celebrate Dogs event. I've already been there since Wednesday, working on a couple of projects before the main event, but now I'm just wrapping up interviews with Beatrice and Lambchop, otherwise known as: Stella on Modern Family; and Yakult on Suburgatory: I was really happy to get the chance to meet these celebrity dogs up close and personal. This is the first year the ... Read more »
Sonnet XVII
When I was in high school, I loved to write poetry. Sonnets, limericks, haiku, you name it, I did it. Something about the juxtaposition of the rigidity of the writing structure with the creative challenge of expressionistic thought was very appealing to me. I never said it was good poetry, though. That is why I majored in biology. These days, I limit my poetry to once or twice a year, and I present it with the clear disclaimer that it is bad poetry, which doesn't make it any better but at ... Read more »