Most pet adoption listings try to make the cats and dogs up for adoption as appealing as possible. But not the Humane Society Silicon Valley, which last week published a creative, funny, and unusually honest listing for a tiny tornado of a Chihuahua, “Eddie the Terrible.” UPDATE: Eddie gets a home. It’s an awesome piece […]
Dogs
Swinging Doors and Second Chances
Usually I write about content and marketing here. But today I’m temporarily returning to this site’s roots with a personal story. 1. Nine years ago I drove from Boston to Connecticut to pick up an almost one-year-old Cavalier King Charles spaniel named Abby. She was to be a foster dog for a short while, until […]
24 Hours of Bacon
Two days ago I unloaded my creaky old boy Simon from the back seat of the car and helped him wheel himself into the veterinarian’s office to essentially ask his doctor what’s impossible to answer: How long does he have? We were only a few steps from the door. But the journey took an eternity, […]
Just A Dog
I’ve been in a tough place this week; like my skin is thin as tissue paper, and it bleeds raw at the slightest chafe. Yesterday the imbecile at the college financial aid office started arguing with me when I called to inquire about a billing issue. She thought I was complaining, the bitch, when clearly […]
How to Feed a Fussy Little Dog: Chile’s List of Requirements
1. Preference to remain someplace safe — lurking in the shadows, under a bed — while the other dogs (“idiots”) chaotically dance around and drool at the ping of kibble hitting the bowl. Rationale: You can get stepped on, drooled on, or accidentally eaten when Maisy mistakes you for a bit of sausage (it could […]
About A Dog
My little dog Abby lost her right eye yesterday. “Lost” is a funny term for it—implying that she misplaced it somewhere and can’t for the life of her remember where, like you might car keys. Maybe, in time, “lost” will be enough to define the visceral brutality of what happened. But not quite yet. Then […]
Georgie: A Rescue Story
This morning I got an update on a former foster dog — a Cavalier King Charles spaniel who lived with us two years ago, from just prior to Halloween to just before Christmas. The dog had some kind of skin condition and arrived hairless, itchy, raw, reddened and miserable. He was about as sad as […]
Wagging the Dog
I had some happy news last week: The story of Gigi’s adventure with her beloved green tomato has been picked up by The Bark, a magazine I happen to love. In other words, if I were a dog, my tail would be wagging like that of a retriever with a tennis ball. (Or Gigi herself […]
Now a Mini Motion Picture: ‘Gigi Spies a Green Tomato’
My childhood friend Ron Ploof was so inspired by the pathos of Gigi’s story that he adapted it to the small screen. I think he did a fine job with it, and I particularly like the tweak of the ending. So what do you think? Gigi Spies a Green Tomato from Ron Ploof on Vimeo.