Refilling the Water Bowl: How Dogs Help Us Cope with Loss

Finally, I am working on the book about how people use dogs to help them cope with loss, tentatively called Refilling the Water Bowl: Dog Companionship During Loss. If you have a story/incident to share about how your dog helped you cope with a loss in your life, please send me a message: michelle@gingersgift.com.

Hattie goes over the wall...again!

Hattie Hattie Hattie. I was in the shower this morning (Joe isn't here) and when I got out, Nestle was barking. Knowing that Nestle barks at everything, I yelled at her to be quiet. Then the doorbell rang. I ran downstairs to see that three dogs were at the door. Hattie was missing. I knew then that she had gone over the 6-foot wall and when I looked out the window there was my neighbor Rich holding her. She immediately went underneath the couch when she entered the house. Hattie is laying under the table here where I'm working now. At some point it will be funny but I was shaking this morning after it happened. She seems to have been mentally shaken by it although she is physically okay. Her brain isn't exactly big and she's acting on impulse. She gets on top of the wall or over it after hearing a dog or something else. She goes after it and then I think she is wondering, what now? The important thing she is home safe and I'll shut the back door tomorrow morning when I shower.

Looking for stories of love and companionship

I am finally starting work on the book (based on my dissertation) that chronicles how dogs have helped people cope with loss, any kind of loss. Have a story to tell? Email me at michelle@gingersgift.com.

Hattie tears into the Christmas presents

It was a good Christmas at the Linn-Gust house. My coconut cake (as pictured) was a hit (the amaretto doesn't hurt!) and the dogs had a good day. I had bought them several toys months ago for $2.00 each. As pictured, it only took Hattie about two minutes to kill the first one. We started with four and now are down to two. Last night, Daisy found a new "hiding" spot although you can see she doesn't fit very well...

Hattie checks out the scene

While we were watching the Patriots-Jets game Thursday night, I looked up and Hattie was checking out the scene from the stairwell underneath her painting. I felt almost like she was our house lifeguard.

Hurricane Hattie visits Joe Sausage

I took Hattie to visit Joe Sausage today. I wanted to pick up a sandwich for myself. She was great until Joe went to open the grill and she thought she would try to jump up on it! If you live in Albuquerque and have never had Joe Sausage, you are missing out!!!

Life in my Desert 'Hood and Daisy

A typical Monday morning at my house. Everyone is busy at work. Nestle is begging for her 10 am treat when 10:00 is still a ways away. And the local 'hood road runner is in our front yard. Daisy stayed on the couch in the living room where her ears went back as soon as I pulled out the camera. She has serious self esteem issues stemming from the fact that she still thinks she is 25 pounds and not the 75 she morphed into. We finally had the walls repaired where she had left marks from running into them and she seems to have finally stopped attempting to walking under tables that she can now rest her nose on top of.

Flooding and Ginger's Long Day

We've had at least five inches of rain here in Naperville. The photos are taken from the park across the street from my house. Those trees that are under water normal are in the middle of the park. The family came over last night and Ginger was worn out by the time everyone was leaving. She hadn't shown interest in the big white dog before but last night he was her best friend and she refused to leave him alone. I'm sure it had something to do with Karen's Morgan being over– Ginger was probably afraid Morgan would steal the dog for her own like Morgan took off with several other toys.

Lexi learns to swim in the Linn-Gust pool

Our neighbors, Tess and Ed, brought their 8-week-old puppy Lexi for her first swimming lesson late this afternoon. Joe introduced Hattie at about the same age to the water. Lexi seemed to enjoy the water although she wasn't ready to float around on a raft. She almost seemed to say, "Hey, I can barely walk on solid ground, get me off this thing!"

Happy Birthday Hattie!

Today Hattie is three years old! I actually almost forgot (shhh, don't tell Hattie) and checked the file last night and sure enough, it's today. She is currently flaked out on Joe's bed. He washed the bedding and she is curled up in the mattress pad. When I went to remind Joe this morning that it was her birthday, he said he had just been thinking about how I had wanted him to bring back a Golden Retriever from Mississippi when he went to deliver supplies to the people there. I looked at Nestle, crazy yellow lab that she is, and told Joe that I could not handle another Nestle. Joe's comment was that Hattie has more than fit the bill for a fourth dog for us. Hattie hopes to go swimming later if the sun comes out and the wind dies down and watch the Olympics tonight. She keeps asking Joe to tell her train for the 2012 games. She's not sure if she'd be best at the butterfly or breast stroke and asked Joe if that meant she'd have to use her back legs. She's come a long way from the sick puppy she was in Lucedale, Mississippi.