Why I write

When I was invited by the fabulous ladies over at Campari and Sofa (http://campariandsofa.com/) to participate in this tagged blog, I was equally honored and scared to pieces.  That meant my recently born little blog was actually being read (and by two women whose blog I truly admire no less–can you say holy &#@%!) and not just by my Mom.  OMG…totally cool but…gulp (cue the scary music here), intimidating as all heck.

How does my writing differ from others in my genre? Anyone who writes a pet blog probably shares the same feelings for their pet as I have for Sam, yet my passion about his work as a pet therapy dog and how this wonderfully goofy fur-kid interacts with people is probably different from most pet blogs.  Humor is the one connecting thread I strive for throughout the blog.  My goal is to make every reader smile and feel better about life in general, but especially for those suffering from illness or injury.  Sam and I have an enormous amount of empathy for what they are going through and hope to lighten their load, even if only for a few moments, so they can move on to whatever comes next.  The same holds true for caregivers.  

Why do I write? I wanted to share our experiences as a pet therapy team but little did I know how strongly I felt about it, particularly the “transitional phase” of hospice.  To say I’m surprised has been an understatement.  When a person arrives at that last door in life with no one by their side, it breaks my heart to see them move on alone.  Sam and I are happy to hold their hand and hear the stories about their lives and their own pets as they embark on the next journey, wherever that takes them.  We are happy to escort them out of the hospital and back to regular lives but are especially grateful to those who won’t be leaving yet who feel comfortable enough sharing their thoughts and personal stories with us.  It’s humbling and rewarding beyond my wildest imagination.  

How does my writing process work? With a great deal of luck!  I try to look at life in general in such a way that others might be interested in what we are fortunate to see and hopefully have them positively impacted by our observations.  Most of my ideas take shape as we take our twice daily runs where I mull and ponder life’s twists and turns.  There’s so much to see and share when you look closely.

What I’m working on: My son, daughter and their families have recently moved (or are in the process of moving) away from Denver so I’m in kind of an emotional transition now.  Not sure in which direction I’m headed as we’ve always been close, but in the meantime I’ll watch Sam and see how he reacts to our adventures and how I can share those experiences with others till I figure it all out.  Sometimes I rant about people’s disconnection with each other through the advent of technology or on the thoughtlessness of people toward pets in general and have been accused of having ‘strong opinions about certain things.’  Frankly I don’t think we were put on this earth to dominate creatures, but to help steward their lives with compassionate care and love.

Please give a big hand to: So without further ado, let me pass the baton to my dear friend, the extremely talented designer/blogger/photographer, Anna from designpunk blog. (http://www.designpunkblog.com/).  Anna is a world and life traveler with whom I was fortunate enough to meet happenstance at a bus stop in our neighborhood and where we became friends and shared an addiction to Nutella lattes before she moved to Japan. Anna secretly started a design blog ages ago that I only recently discovered by accident (you wily girl, you).  She’s bright, charming, shares my twisted sense of humor and owns two gorgeous and quirky Boxers that Sam adores (even if Lulu doesn’t quite share his devotion).  So with hugs to you and ear scratches for Klaus and Lulu…tag, you’re it!