You often hear it debated whether dogs have souls, it cannot be debated whether they have heart. If I had any doubt of this, my pug Alfie proved it to me on Friday when we awoke to mountains of snow in the backyard. Alfie does not like to be cold, she does not like to get her feet wet. While my other pug, Waffles, begs to go out to sit on the stoop in the sun, Alfie prefers to be inside with me. But when she saw me plowing through the snow following my niece and nephew who were shoveling a path through the backyard, she gamely came off the steps. The snow was mostly over her head and in her eyes, she had no idea what we were doing or where we were going me, but she followed me through the snow as it froze to her nose and eyelids. She is not a husky or border collie, a Lab or a retriever, she is a pug–a couch potato and it takes a lot of heart when you are as short and round as a real potato to charge through an ocean of white stuff, way over your head. She did it to follow me. I think she would follow me anywhere.
Guest Post
A couple of weeks ago while browsing a Blogpaw's forum, I saw a request for a guest blogger to write a post for Baby and the Chi's, a site telling the tales of a mom, her son and their chihuahuas. I volunteered and my post about Pet Love is featured today on the site. To read it visit http://lilbabyvenus.blogspot.com/ and let them know I sent you there.
Or try this link: http://lilbabyvenus.blogspot.com/2014/02/what-our-dogs-mean-to-us.html
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Sweet Pea Visits
Joan and Jane brought Sweet Pea along for the ride tonight. She is getting weaker and admittedly doesn't look good, although her tongue has been hanging out for years -- ever since she was kicked in the jaw by a horse. She can't walk any longer but she enjoyed the fries and cremee Joan brought her from McDonald's. I have been talking a lot to her former owner gathering tales of her youth, which I hope to share in the future.
Visitors
My friend Joan, Waffles' breeder came with our friend Jane to see my new office today. They stopped at the house ahead of time to say "hi" to the girls and see there new, bigger bed in front of the stove. It never ceases to amaze me how excited my pugs get to see Joan. Waffles, I understand, she belonged to Joan for the first two year of her life, but Alfie gets even more excited than Waffles each time Joan arrives. Joan, of course, is equally enthused to see them. It is hard not to think of her as an animal whisperer when you see this exchange.
Book Review: The Road Unsalted
One of the greatest gifts in life is a good teacher. I have been fortunate to know several—my childhood art teacher, Maryann Davis, my fifth grade teacher, Paul Rocheleau, my photography teacher, Jim Block, and presently my friend, Sonja Hakala.
A fellow writer, Hakala is a self-publishing maven, who can take students through the history of publishing from its origins to present day. I feel like I am getting a Masters' level course, just sitting in her current class at the AVA Gallery in Hanover, NH.
Sonja has written books on publishing and quilting and recently turned her attention to fiction, writing a novel set in the fictional town of Carding, Vt.
Sonja gave me a copy of her novel for an unbiased review. I tried to be as unbiased as possible, and as a teacher myself used to reading students' works, I feel I did a good job, but t is always difficult to read the work of a friend—can she write, will I like it, what if I don't? Fortunately, Sonja can write and with every page I found myself being further drawn into the world of Carding, Vt., a town very familiar to my own.
And, for you dog lovers out there, Hakala includes a dog, Nearly that offers its own perspective on the community.
So, here is my review of Sonja's book. Next week I will run a Q & A with her. Enjoy!
Review: The Road Unsalted by Sonja Hakala
If you live in a small town, the dynamics of Sonja Hakala’s novel The Road Unsalted will be familiar to you. If you live in the Upper Valley of Vermont and New Hampshire, as I do, this story may feel like walking into a page of your own life. Hakala sets her tale in the fictional town of Carding, Vermont, but locates Carding in the Upper Valley region. Real life artists and locations pepper the story that has all the right elements including: small town politics, romance and scandal, and the warmth of family and friends found in such a tight-knit communities. At times I found myself laughing at the familiarity of it all, and at other times I was downright touched. Take for instance the scene where the friends of one of the main characters, Ted Owens, gather on the ski slopes to help him confront a painful memory. The characters ring true if a few, such as Lisa and Alli-O, are deliciously over the top. There are even a few scenes from the point of view of a dog, Nearly, a tribute to Hakala’s own dog Goldie. Nearly offers an unique perspective that dog lovers will enjoy. Hakala manages to use all these devices without seeming silly or diminishing the pace of the narrative. The novel is also peppered with lyrical description: “To the north of the green, the land swooped down to Half-Moon Lake, a big fat puddle that filled a hole craved out by the Corvus River. At the head of the lake, a thirty-foot bluff jutted out over the water, a great knobbly knee of granite that has resisted the river’s erosion for time out of mind.
The story has real heart as illustrated by the relationship between Suzanne and her Uncle Ted, but characters such as Edie Wolfe and her dog Nearly will long linger in my mind. The storyline – whether the Carding Academy of Traditional Arts will be forced to leave town as a result of a political debate over ancient roads – is entertaining, but it is the small town intrigue and wonderfully written characters that keep me reading and eager to return to Carding once again in the future.
Three Dog Life
I had to do an interview at a person's home last week -- the owner of a local restaurant. These three served as a live audience to our Q & A. Well, at least I think they were live, they sure don't look too lively. Hope that isn't a comment on my interviewing skills.
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Narnia
One of Joan's pugs -- Narnia/Sweet Pea -- who was returned to Joan when her owner could no longer care for her -- has lost the use of her legs, just like my pug Vader did. Unlike Vader, she likes to squirm and move and get herself trapped in all sorts of strange places, so Joan pretty much has to take her with us everywhere. Sweet Pea, as her owner called her, or Narnia, as we first named her, came back to Joan because her owner Nancy had an ill father. Traveling back and forth to Florida to care for him was not fair to Sweet Pea, so Nancy gave her back to Joan. She has missed her ever since. Narnia was born on my lap 10 years ago and stayed at Joan's for many years before going to live with Nancy. As a result, I have always had a fondness for her. When I hear Nancy talk about her my heart almost breaks. There is such affection in her stories. I contacted Nancy via email the other day because I wanted to know more about Narnia's time with her. I thought I might write about it. She told me how she named Narnia after a can of antique wrinkled sweet peas and how she misses her still. Narnia is tiny and frail in body but her mind is active, her spirit downright feisty. Nancy's one request when she surrendered her was that we not tell her when she dies. "It will break my heart," she says. She wrote that she hates to think of Narnia's legs. She remembers how much she hated the cold and how she wouldn't put all four paws on the ground at once. "It makes me sad to write of her," she said. "She is a dear little bundle of black love and I miss her all the time.
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Waffles Taking Her Medicine
Waffles seems to be feeling better, but as I shared with someone today, it must be a miracle because most of the antibiotic ends up on me instead of in her mouth. It's cherry flavored and the vet assured me that she would like it. My vet is excellent and in deference to her reputation, she was right. Waffles loves the medicine, but she does not like the syringe. So, if I can get the stuff past her teeth she laps it up happily, even licking it off my hand and clothes when it spills, but she does not like the syringe coming toward her mouth. It's a wee bit of a happy battle as she shakes and spills than laps and licks.
Healing with Art
A lot of people I know -- some with whom I have close ties -- have been dealing with cancer lately. That's why it was an extra special honor to have two of my photographs -- Man's Best Friend and Girls with Lenore -- chosen to be a part of the Norris Cotton Cancer Center's Healing with Art show. Today was the reception and it was a wonderful event. Patients, artists, staff, doctors and friends and family all mingled together to not only view the artwork and hear us talk about our work, but also to listen to patients read poetry and prose about their experience. Some of it was poignant, some painful, and some humorous and direct. Many participating shared their personal reasons for being there -- friends and family who had survived and suffered from cancer -- everyone expressed their belief in the healing power of art. There was a warm and beautiful spirit to the gathering. I felt particularly supported having not only my parents in attendance, but my photography instructor, Jim Block and his wife Jann. It means a lot to have the support of a teacher especially one that launched you in a direction you never expected to take. I made a number of contacts, connected with another former instructor, Carla Kimball, who also has work in the show, and was especially proud to hear from a fellow artist that a patient had grabbed her hand and led her over, squealing in delight, to view one of my "dog" photos. It is a small bit of joy to share with people undergoing such pain, but still I am happy to provide it.
Sick puppy
Poor Puppies...Alfie and Waffles went to the vet this afternoon to be tested for a urinary tract infection. Because of the cold and rain, neither of them have been good about going outside to do their business and yesterday I noticed some blood in the puddle one had left in the kitchen. I couldn't be certain which one had a problem or if Alfie was coming into season, so I made an appointment with the vet to take them both in. Unfortunately, I had to teach, so I arranged to have my parents take the dogs to the vet and for me to meet them there. It was a family affair. It turns out it is Waffles with the problem, although Alfie does have crystals in her urine as well. It seems like this is natural for her as we have had her tested in the past. Waffles, on the other hand, not only has a UTI, but a suspicious x-ray. The doctor was checking to make sure no stones were forming. As far as she can tell, they aren't, but she may have a bit of "sludge" built up already so it's good we brought her in. She is on an antibiotic and I am changing both their diets for a time being to see if that helps.
Neither of them enjoyed the visit. Alfie even nipped at a vet tech while getting her nails done. By the time I arrived, 10 minutes into their appointment, the two were both frantic eyed and panting. They seemed pleased to see me, though Mom and Dad were doing a good job.
