Tasha and Others

Archive for the ‘personal story’ Category

Stuffed toys are to my dog like chocolate is to some people. When she knows it’s somewhere near, she has to have it. And once it’s in her mouth, she has to destroy it.

Like a typical golden retriever, Tasha first holds a stuffed toy with a “soft mouth.” This breed usually holds their prey tightly, but without too much pressure, so as not to actually pierce it. Sometimes they even drop what’s in their mouth.

Not my dog. No matter how big or small the stuffed toy, it doesn’t take Tasha long to get a good grip and start ripping it apart. She’s like a dog maniac on a short-lived mission.

I’ve tried hiding these fuzzy teddy bears, rabbits, and balls, but she can smell them. I wonder what stuffing must smell like.

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I’m busy writing away upstairs. Last time I looked, it was 4:00 in the afternoon. Suddenly, I hear my dog Tasha get up off the floor next to me, she shakes, she moves in closer, and I can feel her expectant stare right on me. It’s 5:45, and the dinner routine is about to start–just 15 minutes from can-opening time, and somehow, she knows it. I might still be consumed with work, but at the witching hour, I have no choice but to pull myself away from the computer and out of my chair. I must trundle downstairs to attend to the needs of my dog.

I didn’t mean to train my dog to eat at such a specific time, but 6 o’clock it is–every night. On the dot. If I stay out late, I think Tasha sits beside her food bowl, waiting for me to come home and get on with it. She’s always right where she should be, sitting patiently (but not too patiently), and drooling to her heart’s content.

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My recent interest in cloud computing has generated pages and pages of notes. As I spent days researching it, I looked for good examples of what the cloud does and will mean to me.

Cloud computing has actually been around in some shape or form since about 2006 (or longer), but it is now at the point where it has become part of our common vocabulary. I see advertisements for cloud companies all over the web.

When I got my new iPhone, I found the iCloud option right out of the box. The  iCloud stores my music, photos, documents, and more, and wirelessly pushes them to all my devices. Rather than storing this information on local servers and on specific devices, it is stored in a way that I can access it from anywhere.

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This article by me was published on the site Best Pet Jobs. Hopefully, it inspired others to take on the job of being a writer for pet-related sites.

I am and have been a writer and an editor for a number of websites and blogs. It’s not a great way to pull in continuous income, but the rewards are endless.

For example, as Chief Editor for Dogspired, I come into contact with all sorts of authors who have all sorts of stories to tell about their dogs. I edit them, apply social media strategies, and also write some of my own articles. Along with personal stories, I publish current news articles about dog rescue and adoption, and those that take a hard look at animal welfare. Mix that in with product and book reviews, tips for dog owners (such as how to deal with separation anxiety or how to give your dog a bath), fun doggy photos and dog events, and I’ve got almost a fulltime job trying to get it all published.

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Recently, I was walking along a beach in Southern California, where it seemed as though almost everyone had a dog of some variety. As I walked along, I started asking people where they got their dog. Many of them replied that they had purchased their dog from a breeder or private party, which disturbed me greatly.

Being an advocate of animal welfare, and dog rescue in particular, I felt the need to convey my opinion. Did these people not know that there are dogs waiting in shelters to be adopted and loved? Did they not care about giving an abandoned or abused dog a chance at a forever home?

I wanted to spread the word about the importance of adopting companion animals from shelters and rescue groups. I wanted to make people aware of how spending great amounts of money to buy a dog was a selfish act, especially when that money could be used to help shelters and rescue groups keep going.

As I gathered more disturbing responses from dog owners, I started to visualize just what form a message would take to help people stop and think about rescuing a dog rather than buying one. In the interest of spreading awareness about dog rescue, I struggled with the exact wording, but then it came to me—bold lettering on a t-shirt that said simply: “Why Buy? Rescue a Dog.”

So, now that I’m pretty much healed and recovered from surgery, I’m out of bed, walking tall (well, that’s relative), back to the gym, and seeing friends. During the time I was laid up, Tasha stayed by my side. She had different people feeding her and taking her for walks. But her favorite place was at the corner of my bed, where I stayed for two months.

Now I take Tasha here and there with me, and it’s almost like the surgery and recovery didn’t happen.

I missed the whole summer (the best time in Seattle)–the time when I’d be at the dog park with Tasha whenever I could. I missed taking her to the lake and throwing tennis balls for her.

I didn’t go home for awhile, so Tasha got to stay with her best friend, Roxy, a Rottweiler mix, which was good for both of them.

But without her normal exercise and feeding, Tasha stuck with me. She didn’t care that I couldn’t walk because she had her special corner of the bed. She also licked me quite often, as if to say, “I’m here for you and I love you!” Sometimes I think I got more love from her than from anyone else.