Sit. Stay. Read.
obsessed with dogs
Last week, during her school’s spring break, Violet and I visited my parents. We also took a Legoland detour, which was amazing, but anyway. At one point during our trip, after John had called to say that Stola shredded his pillow, my mom laughed. “It is so funny,” she chuckled, “to watch you with a …
ICYMI on Instagram, we have some news: This is Stola. She’s a 7-month-old pitty who came from the Fort Wayne Pit Bull Coalition and joined our family about a week ago. How did this all come about? Well, it started when Penny fully discovered her playful side. For nine or 10 months, she was still …
September is Deaf Awareness Month (in human land, not canine world), and it’s got me thinking about some of our recent experiences with both a Deaf human and dog. I’m sharing a couple here and on Instagram, but a little background info first: My human 4-year-old, Astrid, is hard-of-hearing. Deafness is a spectrum; it’s not …
Friday night, after the girls were down, I climbed under my weighted blanket with a glass of wine, Dogland (so, so good, btw), and Penny, who promptly fell asleep on my arm. She twitched a little as she snoozed, and when John walked through the bedroom on his way to the closet, she lifted her …
How’s Penny doing these days? So glad you asked! 😉 As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Here’s a rundown of her progress, along with a few adorable photos: The first week after she came home, Penny slept. We had to wake her up to eat and to go outside, and the couple …
My puppy, my heart. I’m a bit early on this birthday letter to you. A few weeks early, actually, but only because I have the time right now, in this moment, and I may not again in time for your birthday. I’m taking advantage of this gap to honor this big day. And, boy, is …
My dog is the best. He’s sweet. He loves to cuddle. He adores cats. He skitters with his dog friends. He’s incredible with our two-year-old daughter, even falling in line when she waggles her fingers at him and says, “Cooper coming,” in her little voice. He’s my running partner and my sidekick in this balancing-work-and-mom-life …
This space exists so that we can share honestly in a digital world that often is far too glossy. So, here goes: Some days, today being one, I don’t like Cooper. He can be a jerk. And, when he’s a jerk, I just don’t like him. I love him, of course. I love him to …
File this one under: “You do you, boo.” (Kind of like this one.) Anyways, some pet blogger friends and I had this conversation a while ago, and I’ve been meaning to write about it but kept putting it off. Part of me was like, Well, who really cares what you think about this topic. And part of me …
Sometimes when I see someone walking their dog down the sidewalk, I watch the dog’s tail swish around happily, head bobbing, taking in all the sniffs. I see dogs stop to greet other people and other dogs out on their walks, or–even better–I see dogs walk past and ignore other people and other dogs out on their …
Yesterday, Coop, you turned seven. How that’s possible… I still can’t wrap my mind around it… But, it’s true, and here we are. Today, you are a seven-year-old pup. “Middle aged.” I say “middle aged” in quotes because you, my dear Cooper, did not get the #adulting memo. Or, maybe it’s that you’re taking the …
You guys. It’s the last month of summer. HOW did that happen!?! Winter takes AGES. But summer? Gone in a flash. But, we still have a month! We love doing stuff outside all summer long… reading on the porch, swimming, wogging (walking + jogging), grilling out… Most of all, we love hiking. Why is hiking a …
I read some quote recently about the caterpillar turning into the butterfly. One life ending, the other beginning. It was supposed to be inspirational, but the image stuck with me. Because it’s not really a beginning or an ending. It’s just a continuation of the same. It only looks different. A caterpillar basically digests itself …
Do you guys do this? You get so many ideas and lists and to dos going in your head, but each time one gets crossed off another dozen crop up. Cross those off, and somehow there are even more. Or the list gets so long you just end up staring out the window. That’s not …
Fact: Emmett is old. He’s not getting old. He’s just straight-up old. This is not a fact that I’ve readily accepted. Oh, no. The opposite, really. “Of course he’s getting older,” I would said. “Everyone is!” Except, at 13.5, Emmett is actually old. He’s no longer in his golden years. The reality is, he’s in his …
Emmett tackles life with gusto. Everything he does, he does with force and vigor. He finds fun everywhere–even the vet–and he assumes something good is around every corner. His optimism knows no bounds. He’s a model for good living, I think. This post is sponsored by Wellness and the BlogPaws™ Pet Influencer Network™. I am …
Do you guys do this, too? You’re in your car, walking down the street, waiting for the bus, whatever, and… oh! look! a dog! Your head swivels, and you smile as they walk past (or, if they’re close enough, shout, “May I please pet your dog?!”). It’s habit. Completely ingrained. And so, the other day, …
A year ago today, we lost our Lucas. I couldn’t write about it then–except to let you, our kind friends, know he was gone. I didn’t think I could write about it now either. See, the thing is, I felt like we failed him. We lost him too soon, so it had to be our …
Our house sits on the corner of two streets that jut off in sharp angles. This creates a backyard shaped kind of like a triangle. Our house forms the base of the triangle, and the other two sides… well, it’s a shared fenceline with the house on either side. One of those two sides, the …
Fact: There is nothing better than an old dog. Another fact: Aging can be tough, no matter the species. My heart is bursting with the joy and gratitude and love I have for seeing Emmett into these Golden Years. Considering all we’ve been through with him–and the fact that we lost his brother at the unfair age …
It baffles me to say this–my mind literally cannot grasp how this happened–but today, dear Cooper, you turn six. It was, like, last year that you were this size, right? But, nope. Somehow you’ve gone from this: To this: LOOK AT YOUR GRAY WHISKERS, COOPER! Stop that right this instant! You’ve been through a lot …
This guy. He is ALWAYS this happy! Always. Even at his second vet visit in a week… So, last Monday, I was on a Skype call at the kitchen table. It was a hugely productive meeting, and I was jotting notes and super involved until I looked over, and there was Emmett. Standing next …
Dear Emmett, Ten years ago, you came home. After spending almost two years of your life in shelters, we found you. So, today we celebrate a decade of our best friendship and your 13th birthday! While I try to write your adoption letters about you and all that’s happened in the last year, well, this …
In 2014, I ran a series of “Bark Week” posts (total, shameless play on Shark Week, of course…) that detailed how we were mitigating the insane amount of barking that was going on around the house. In one of the posts, I wrote about the front door insanity that ensued every. single. time. someone walked …
