Pick-up Dogs How Two Rescue Dogs Save the West from Being Won
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 […]