Dog’s Life
Grief and Joy and a Final Gift
As many of you know, our beloved Bailey, the Rescuepoo, the Boo of Boos, The Little Smackeral, left us on the morning of February 9, 2023. His passing wasn’t exactly unexpected, but we didn’t expect it at that moment. We had arranged with our vet, the wonder Kim Weisner at Caring Hearts Animal Hospital, to…
Read MoreOn Being Dumbfounded In The Face Of Life
Today I received the following comment on the blog I wrote about choosing “Interbeing” as my word for the year. I was so touched by it that I found myself writing a long response that’s turned into its own blog entry. Anne M., I am grateful to you. Anne wrote: Thank you for this lovely…
Read MoreOn The Death Of Animals
Someone told me they had to put their beloved eight-year-old cat to sleep quite unexpectedly. One day she was there, the next she left. My friend is in agony. We discussed a woman of our acquaintance named Moya, whose adored dog died. Moya dug a grave for her dog and then crawled into it for…
Read MoreGrief, It’s a Journey
Sixteen years ago I was standing, naked (as one does) save for a paper dressing gown, in my dermatologist’s office. She was telling me how she had just put her beloved dog to sleep, after thirteen years together, which was a pretty good lifespan for a dog of his size. “How the hell can you…
Read MoreDogs and Heaven and Alice McDermott
In her wonderful book about writing, What About the Baby? Alice McDermott tells us a story she read in an Irish magazine about a man who finds himself walking along a road with his childhood dog. The man realizes he’s dead, because of how long the dog’s been dead. How glad he is to see his…
Read MoreTo Go Gently, Or Not? Thoughts on Impermanence
I have a dear friend, Mark, who may be one of the most compassionate, kind, and intelligent people I know. He is also very tall and absurdly handsome. (How he will guffaw if he reads that last bit!) He tells many interesting stories, and this is one of them: Once, back when he was a…
Read MoreMary Oliver, Brother Phap Dung, and Small White Dogs (My Dog Is Dying, Part III)
A NOTE TO READERS….. The title of this blog says almost everything. I will add a few things, though. This time is EXCRUCIATING. So much so that I will not be answering phone calls for the foreseeable future. Answering emails will be touch and go… and forgive me if you comment on this series of…
Read MoreMy Dog Is Dying (Part II)
A NOTE TO READERS….. The title of this blog says almost everything. I will add a few things, though. This time is EXCRUCIATING. So much so that I will not be answering phone calls for the foreseeable future. Answering emails will be touch and go… and forgive me if you comment on this series of…
Read MoreMy Dog Is Dying (Part I)
A NOTE TO READERS….. The title of this blog says almost everything. I will add a few things, though. This time is EXCRUCIATING. So much so that I will not be answering phone calls for the foreseeable future. Answering emails will be touch and go… and forgive me if you comment on this series of…
Read MoreEven So…#14
Day ? of the pandemic. I lived in Nova Scotia many years ago, not far from where the recent massacre happened. I know how wonderful the people of the Maritimes are, and I take solace from that. I know they’ll take care of each other in this awful time, as we all should. I read…
Read More