Pick-up Dogs How Two Rescue Dogs Save the West from Being Won
Author Archive
The Economic Value of Wilderness
I’ve been working on the idea of the value of wilderness and nature from the point of view of an economist, which is difficult because I’m not an economist. Nevertheless, by definition economists have a lot to tell us about nature and wilderness, and I want to learn from their perspective. Economics is the study […]
The Olympics from the Chuckanuts
This view comes from along the Chuckanut ridge off of Cleator Road. Overlooking Samish Bay and Rosario Strait, you can see the Olympic Mountains. A cold, cloudy December morning didn’t stop us from traversing this piece of the Chuckanut Mountain ridge. Chuckanut is an interpretation of a Lummi word meaning “Long beach far from a […]
Clair de Lune
A sublime walk up on the mountain. You can force the meditation scene, the peacock feather ceremony that’s supposed to make it all better. The search for the sublime is rendered impossible when you seek it out. But sometimes the weather cooperates, a slight glitch in the system makes it warmer on the mountain than […]
Sumas Mountain Lost Lake Expedition: A Beautiful Post-apocalyptic Wasteland on the Northern Frontier
We’d made several attempts at Lost Lake. Following the reports of fishermen, hunters, hikers, and Ken Wilcox, author of Hiking Whatcom County, we joyrode up and down the logging roads off South Pass Road looking for the mysteries of Sumas Mountain. Rich in a natural and a people’s history of Whatcom County and a little […]
A review from a veterinarian
The book is called “Pick-Up Dogs” (Click here to buy the book) and it is a half academic, half personal journey into what our relationship with dogs tells us about our relationship with the world. Do we try and tame our pets and the world to our every whim, or do we open ourselves up to […]
A visit to the Animals as Natural Therapy farm
Today I went out to the Animals as Natural Therapy (http://www.animalsasnaturaltherapy.org/) farm, which is about 15 minutes from downtown Bellingham. This is a place I have been meaning to visit for a long time as I indirectly mention the organization in my book, but I have yet to make it out to their digs because […]
Village Books and an Economic History of Independent Booksellers
Village Books in Fairhaven, a historic part of Bellingham, is the center of life and a community meeting point for the area’s residents and book lovers. To say that Village Books is at the heart of Fairhaven, if not Bellingham, would not be hyperbole, and today in Professor Hart Hodges’s MBA microeconomics class at the […]
Murakami’s cats, Bolaño’s dogs, translation, and the next big thing
A while ago I became obsessed with a writer from Chile, who lived for a time in Mexico, and spent his last years in Spain: Robert Bolaño. I discovered him while living in Barcelona, and it turned out that the small village that he was living in, Blanes, was just a few miles north on […]
November in the North Cascades
November brought a dusting of snow up in the mountains. The first signs of winter began at about mile post marker 40 on the Mt. Baker highway, somewhere around 2200 feet up. I didn’t bring enough clothing with me. No gloves. I was still wearing my autumn hat and hadn’t brought out the full winter, […]
For every book ordered, I will donate a dollar to the shelter of your choice
For every copy of Pick-Up Dogs ordered, I will donate a dollar to the animal shelter of your choice. Just post a comment to this post, our Facebook page, or our Twitter feed with the name of the shelter you would like your dollar donated to. Click here to buy the book
Happy Halloween!
Happy Halloween! For every book sold during November, I will donate a dollar to the animal rescue organization or shelter of your choice. Just post it on the Pick-up Dogs Facebook page after your purchase. Click here to buy the book Hard working therapy dog checks out the scene of Halloween morning. Skeletons and candy […]
Happy Birthday to me!
I’m not usually one to go out and wait in line for a new product. The same product that came out yesterday is the same one I’ll get today or the next day. I usually don’t even buy books. That’s a terrible thing to say as an author, but our house is already suffering from […]
North Fork bald eagle watching
The last days of October have the most beautiful light. I love the long shadows and the golden-brown palettes. We have a favorite little spot on the North Fork of the Nooksack River where we can go watch eagles and riparian birds, like the kingfisher or the great blue heron. This spot provides an excellent […]
Secrets of Dog Photography
Many people have commented on the photography in Pick-Up Dogs, so I thought I’d give a couple of thoughts about photographing dogs; my dogs, at least. Bear in mind that I’m not a professional animal photographer. Although I do take pictures of others people’s dogs, especially when I travel (I have some beautiful pictures of […]
Mushroom hunting with dogs in the October light
In a place marked by mazes of logging roads I had to try every one, so the dogs and I went up a new spur off the 38, a dirt National Forest road hidden off Mosquito Lake Road that brings you pretty close to the Twin Sisters, two masses of dolomite and small glaciers. We […]
Subtle difference between therapy and service dogs and the legal ramifications…
For denying a student permission to live in campus housing with her therapy dog, the federal government has charged the University of Nebraska at Kearney and five of its administrators with violations of the Fair Housing Act. The student enrolled at the university in August 2010 and registered with its disability-services office, disclosing two conditions: depression […]
The first few lines of Pick-Up Dogs
The stories of two rescue dogs collected in this book are just a few of the yarns in a huge library full of essays, poems, films, television programs, memoirs and comics that describe dogs’ faculties to make human lives better. Whether it be the bipolar woman who leans on her dogs for support, the young […]
Noisy-Diobsud Wilderness with dogs
Probably one of the last weekends for an elevation hike without snowshoes or other snow gear. The dogs and I, with our trusty mentor David, headed up over the Baker Dam, making our way to the Watson Lakes/Anderson Butte trailhead in the Noisy-Diobsud Wilderness. The mosquitoes and flies lingered despite all evidence that might indicate […]
Running with dogs
When I adopted Lupe, my border collie/flat-coated retriever mix, I started running. After I read Haruki Murakami’s What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, I became a runner. Running doesn’t come naturally for me. I’m a top heavy swimmer who prefers to hike. But I’ve learned to love running. Lupe is addicted to […]
What is a therapy dog?
When somebody mentioned to me that my Lab/greyhound mix Marcos would make a perfect therapy dog, I had to respond, “What’s a therapy dog?” My friend explained that a therapy animal provides affection and comfort to people in hospitals, nursing homes and other situations in which people need relief from suffering. I must admit that […]
A poem for home
“Ish River” — like breath, like mist rising from a hillside. Duwamish, Snohomish, Stillaguamish, Samish, Skokomish, Skykomish…all the ish rivers. I live in the Ish River country between two mountain ranges where many rivers run down to an inland sea. Robert Sund, 1979 Cloud House There is something about the immediacy of the land here […]
Launch Party: Book Release!
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