“Hark to Beaumont. Softly, Beaumont, mon amy. Oyez à Beaumont the valiant. Swef, le douce Beaumont, swef, swef.” Beaumont licked his hand but could not wag his tail.” T.H. White, “The Once and Future King”. For the past couple of years, my life has been pretty easy. I… Continue reading Another Dog, Same Breed, As Soon as Possible
Category: Dog Stories
The View From Here
For Mrs. Shirley Wiley Last Saturday I suddenly found myself flat on my back on our gravel driveway. The events leading up to this are all too familiar to my fellow deerhound owners—sometimes even walking with bent knees doesn’t work if you don’t see it coming—“it” in this instance being an 85 pound seven… Continue reading The View From Here
In Praise of Angelina
I have always been one of Angelina Jolie’s biggest fans. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences saw fit to reward her 1999 performance in “Girl Interrupted” with an Oscar, but I wasn’t well and truly smitten until the second Lara Croft Tombraider movie was released in 2003. In that film, Jolie, who performs… Continue reading In Praise of Angelina
This Rough Magic
Have I given fire and rifted Jove’s stout oak With his own bolt; the strong-based promontory Have I made shake and by the spurs pluck’d up The pine and cedar: graves at my command Have waked their sleepers, oped, and let ’em forth By my so potent art. But this rough magic I here abjure… Continue reading This Rough Magic
It’s Been Awhile
Back in late September, my friends asked me if I was worried about the upcoming move to New Mexico. I replied, no, it would be a piece of cake compared to my earlier cross country move from Boston to California. After all, in 1993, I said goodbye to our babysitter of nine years and packed… Continue reading It’s Been Awhile
Do Dogs Know They are Dying?
Labor Day, 2006, is a day I will never forget. It was a gorgeous day here in San Diego—bright, sunny and nearly 90 degrees. I decided it was a perfect day to give the dogs an outdoor bath. At the time, we had Valentine, the matriarch at nearly twelve years old, Izzy who was four,… Continue reading Do Dogs Know They are Dying?
The Mating Game
When I was a kid, we lived in the Braeswood apartment complex in Houston, TX, right next to the A & P grocery store. There were no leash laws back then, and everyone in the complex let their dogs run loose. I have one distinct memory of dog breeding from “back in the day”—I went… Continue reading The Mating Game
The Things We Save, The Things We Give Away
Since I just spent the last several months sorting through my own lifetime accumulation of “stuff” in order to get my house ready for sale, it was only fitting that I volunteered to chair the auction and raffle at the Scottish Deerhound Club of America’s annual National Specialty show, held in Richland, Washington last week.… Continue reading The Things We Save, The Things We Give Away
Love and Loyalty From the Souls of Dogs
“Such sadness and endearing and abiding love…” Fran I am by nature a “right brain” person—despite my training in science and medicine, I prefer paintings and photographs to words and mathematical constructs. Over the past two years of writing this blog, I have resisted on many occasions the urge to add pictures to this website,… Continue reading Love and Loyalty From the Souls of Dogs
Deconstructing the House
Photographer’s notes: Please have the home prepared before the photographer arrives. 1. Turn on every conceivable light. 2. Open window coverings. 3. Remove pool hose, pool supplies and backyard toys. 4. Open patio umbrellas. 5. Remove BBQ cover. 6. Remove cars and trash cans from driveway. 7. Remove laundry, toys and cleaning supplies, brochure stands,… Continue reading Deconstructing the House