Emily Larlham is a respected and compassionate dog trainer who generously shares lessons on her YouTube channel “Kikopup.” I value her respectful and patient teaching style as her canine companion learns how to settle, have its nails trimmed or wiggles during a rewarding game. And I’m in awe when a video includes her calm, watchful […]
Category: Loss and grief
Hope Arrives Today
Hope arrives today. She is a faded-caramel senior, female Cocker Spaniel I’ve nicknamed “Casper the Friendly Ghost,” who makes me smile when I notice her watching me with her “I see you” brown eyes and silky, hopeful wag. Her person is traveling and has entrusted Hope’s care to me while she is away. This beneficial […]
Lean on Me – DoberBuddy – Part Two
SABER Missing our dear Ramses and his presence in our lives and home, we learned of an adult, red male Doberman in our neighborhood. A young woman was going through a divorce and was brokenheartedly looking for a new home for her special boy. We visited her and her mother and eagerly welcomed Saber into […]
Lean on Me – DoberBuddy – Part One
“Ramses was a friendly, goofy boy who settled in nicely with the DoberGrrls and Surrey (the king cat).”
Without You
Since my dear Hailey died in March, I have been learning what it’s like to live with the absence of dog in my home. The powerful decades-old cord of connection is silent. No more not-so-subtle reminders to step away from my computer and GO OUTSIDE NOW and DON’T FORGET WE NEED TO EAT IN FIVE […]
Today. And Tomorrow.
Now, there is no dog in my house. Little guest Gus has gone home. Foster boy Toby and his rambunctious energy has gone to his next foster station. Hailey…dear olde grrl…said farewell on March 8. There are no canine distractions to block my heartache. I waved goodbye to overjoyed Gus riding shotgun with his beaming […]
Dancer’s Taj
Our world travels followed a primarily unscheduled easterly path that began in England where we boarded a chilled Greek bus for a three-day ride to Athens. We experienced serious sensory muddlefecation in Egypt, marveled at the herd migrations across the Serengeti in Tanzania, embraced bouquets of taste, color and humanity in India and Nepal […]
Gypsy Grrl
I married just before my junior year at the University of Washington, and my husband and I lived in a small apartment a few blocks from the dorms where we had met. When I graduated, I worked for the university, which helped fund our traveling overseas. First to Europe for a few weeks, then a […]
Inherit the Heart
Home on summer break after my first college year across the state, I was anticipating my sophomore year in the fall closer to home at the University of Washington and the chance to explore a vibrant 70s Seattle. I had missed the island’s abundant greenness, the tangy salt smells from the beach and more tranquil […]
The Dream of a Horse
When I was in high school, I saved up money for a horse of my own from babysitting and mowing my grandfather’s lawn. One sunny spring day, with some added cash from Dad, Grandma Dot and I took a drive to look at some promising horses I had found through newspaper ads. We arrived at […]
Saying Hello to Goodbye 