Category Archives: Pets

This Is The Dog That We Love

March 12, 2026Family, Pets, Slice of Life, Travelonathought

This slice is part of the March Slice of Life Challenge on Two Writing Teachers! #sol26. I’m slicing every day in March. Thanks for stopping by!

This the dog that we love.

This is the bottle
That was chewed by the dog that we love.

This is the birthday bandana
That sits by the bottle
That was chewed by the dog that we love.

This is the picture of the dog
That wore the bandana
That sits by the bottle
That was chewed by the dog that we love.

This is the beach
That we were on getting the picture of the dog
That wore the bandana
That sits by the bottle
That was chewed by the dog that we love.

This is the book
That I read while I sat at the beach
That we were on getting the picture of the dog
That wore the bandana
That sits by the bottle
That was chewed by the dog that we love.

This is my family
That listened to me talk about the book
That I read while I sat at the beach
That we were on getting the picture of the dog
That wore the bandana
That sits by the bottle
That was chewed by the dog that we love.

These are some of the people we love
That helped my family
That listened to me talk about the book
That I read while I sat at the beach
That we were on getting the picture of the dog
That wore the bandana
That sits by the bottle
That was chewed by the dog that we love.

This is the dog
That loves these people that we love
That helped my family
That listened to me talk about the book
That I read while I sat at the beach
That we were on getting the picture of the dog
That wore the bandana
That sits by the bottle
That was chewed by the dog that we love.

This is my prayer
That I’m sending the dog
That loves these people that we love
That helped my family
That listened to me talk about the book
That I read while I sat at the beach
That we were on getting the picture of the dog
That wore the bandana
That sits by the bottle
That was chewed by the dog that we love.

We Are At the Beach.

March 10, 2026Family, Pets, Slice of Life, Travelonathought

We are at the beach.
We are busying ourselves here at the beach.
Trying hard to think only positive thoughts about our Finn.
Watched a funny movie all snuggled in my bed last night.
Worked out this morning, then the pool.
In between we sat in the sun of the rental’s backyard.
I told the kids to pretend for a minute that they believe in intention setting and energy.
We sat and just thought about Finn.
We imagined ourselves next to him in his doggy hospital bed.
We imagined seeing him healthy in a few days, wagging his tail like nothing had happened.
I can’t speak for the kids, but I imagined petting his soft soft ears.
And I told him very lovingly but sternly that the people he is with are taking care of him. He might not be having fun but he needs to do everything they tell him to do, and then we will see him soon.
After he gets better, he can run around and play with his best friend.
His best friend’s person visited him today.
He wagged his tail so hard his bandage flung across the room.
She snuggled him and pet his soft, soft ears.
She told him that the people he is with are taking care of him. She told him he can come play as soon as he’s all better.
We spent the last few hours on the sand.
The kids took a walk.
I read.
I gazed at the turquoise water.
I told the little birds that landed next to me to please send some prayers to Finn.
We are at the beach.
I kept repeating it to myself.
We are at the beach.
We are at the beach.

1200 miles away

March 9, 2026Pets, Slice of Lifeonathought

It was a great beach day.

Sun, sand, reading, relaxing.

Gosh I love being on vacation with my amazing kids.

But now we are 1200 miles away.

And the dog is at the emergency vet.

1200 miles is a lot of miles when the vet says scary things and your dog is going to be there for 48 hours. Because he ate all his medication. All of it. Way over the dangerous dose.

It was a great beach day.

Not Technically a Luck Dragon

March 2, 2026Family, Pets, Slice of Lifeonathought

Sometimes my dog looks like Falkor from Never Ending Story.
Hear me out.
He might be black and grey, not white and pink…
I get it. Finn is not
technically
a luck dragon.
But, it’s all there,
in his face.

Every so often one of us reminds the rest of us about this.
Okay, it’s usually me reminding the kids.
But, recently it was my daughter, reminding me.
We looked at him, as he lay forlornly under the kitchen table, in what seemed to be the exact way Falkor rested.
Waiting.
Wise.

I asked him if he was really Falkor in disguise and he started wagging his tail.
I started singing The Never Ending story to him and he quickly got up, stretched, walked over to me and leaned against my leg.
This worked several times.
I have a witness.

“The never ending stoooorrry…. Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah…”
Tail wag.
Saunter over.
Lean in.

However.
When my 16 year old came home that very night, and I said,
“Watch this!
The never ending stoooorrry…. Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah…”

Finn just continued to nest himself into the couch.

“This is embarrassing for you,” my son said.
And I kept singing, “The Never Ending story…”
“Oh mom. This is so embarrassing. For you.”

“I’m not embarrassed.” I told him,
in between “ah-ah-ah-ah’s.”

“It’s really embarrassing for you.” he insisted.

I tried to tell him that you can’t tell someone that
they are embarrassed.

But, he’s sixteen, and there’s really no point.

He is very
committed
to the story that
I
am constantly embarrassed,
and embarrassing.

In fact, you could say, it’s a never ending story.
Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah…

Is that a turkey in your pocket?

November 25, 2025Pets, Slice of Lifeonathought

Part of Slice of Life Tuesday Slices on Two Writing Teachers!
Join in and write on Tuesdays!

Sara told me this morning that she has a vivid memory of me stuffing animal rights flyers into the pockets of fur coats at Macy’s. Back when there were malls, so much was possible.

And I wonder what kind of messages I could stuff into what kind of pockets now.

I knew the answer to one of the Thanksgiving trivia questions at inservice yesterday. It was 46 million. 46 million turkeys are murdered each year for this holiday. The question of course was worded a little differently than that, but even with the wording, and the cute turkey clip art, I still understood what it must mean to be a turkey in November.

And I wonder if that was the one time someone might have liked having a vegan on their Thanksgiving trivia team.

I have a friend who learned to slaughter a turkey. First, she sang him a lullaby in her arms and thanked him for his life. Once I met a flock of turkeys at Farm Sanctuary. I fed them blades of grass. If I had to disguise a turkey, I’d disguise it to look like your pet dog. Or perhaps I could just disguise it with facts about how smart turkeys are, how they pass knowledge down to other turkeys, how they purr when you pet them, how they talk to their babies even before they are hatched.

And I wonder what other trauma we would be okay with disguising in a cute school project.

Uncomfortable, I know. Especially if your turkey carcass is already in your house, waiting for Thanksgiving.

Through the Van’s Window

March 12, 2025Pets, Slice of Lifeonathought

This slice is part of
of the March Slice of Life Challenge on Two Writing Teachers! #sol25. I’m slicing every day in March. Thanks for stopping by!

I was turning left when I saw an older man walking his golden retriever at the corner. The dog had stopped so the man stopped too. He turned around and they stared at each other for a moment.

The man said something. I don’t know what he said because it wasn’t as spring-like today as it was yesterday. My windows were up. My heat (and my heated seat) was on!

But, I’m pretty sure he said what I have to say to my dog on so many walks.

“Let’s go. We are going this way. I’m in charge.”

And I’m pretty sure the golden retriever just laughed. I mean his mouth was open in that amazing golden retriever smile. You know the one.

I drove away laughing, so I’ll never know who got their way.

When this exchange happens on my walks I usually feel all sorts of feelings. I’m frustrated because I want to keep walking. I’m empathetic and feel bad for my dog who just wants to make an autonomous decision about where to walk. I don’t usually laugh.

But watching it through the van window? Seeing the dog smiling? I laughed, and honestly their exchange brought me so much joy. Some might say this makes me evil. I think it just gave me a little perspective.

Later I took my dog for a walk, and we got to the place where he always wants to go towards the park. He stopped and I sighed.

I told him, “Finn, I know you know I laughed and cheered for that golden retriever earlier. But right now we need to go this way on a short walk. Then, we will snuggle. Then you can have another walk. I’m in charge.”

And you know what? He walked with me, and I laughed.

Until we got to the next corner where he wanted to go to the other park, of course.

Nine

March 8, 2025Pets, Slice of Lifeonathought

Oh, Finn. I’m trying to write a poem
for you!
A slice of birthday writing
for you!
A love poem
for you!

A distinguished gentleman, your love more than genuine…

But the sun is out and for you…
A sniff-ari walk is the only thing you want to do
And so you annoy me, paw at my hands, don’t let me type
put the puppy dog eyes on strong. Oh, you!

I forgive you, of course
because just look at that face

Since you were a baby, without any gray, you knew how to get your way.
Your favorite treats, that list would be long, but carrots, popcorn, cucumbers would come in strong.

I’m just saying, if I didn’t have to wrestle my arm from you, I would write you a Birthday poem, Finn.

Roses are red
You are black, with gray
I can’t finish this poem
Because it’s a sunny day

Oh, Finn! I know You want to go out. Walks are fun, but don’t discount laying sun, and sniff-aris to sniff around a ton.

I can’t believe you’re nine! A distinguished, still spoiled canine.

Relax. It’s March (Soon Enough, It Will Be April.)

March 31, 2024Celebrate, Family, Pets, poetry, Reflections on coaching, Reflections on teaching, Slice of Lifeonathought

I was so inspired by Fran’s Relax slice, and I’ve been trying different versions on my own. But, it’s hard! Today I read a lot of people’s March Slice of Life wrap up slices, and I thought … what if I did a wrap up Relax slice? It might seem depressing … but the cool thing is that I’m still standing! Here’s my try, from my month of slices: Relax. It’s March (Soon Enough, It Will Be April)

Relax.
It’s March.
Things are going to be bad.
You will realize you have been wearing the tag
on your shoe in public. It will make you laugh,
and write. You will be angry about things you can’t
quite publish. You will know you will never be
as unf***withable as your friend was. Noticing things
all month will become an issue. There won’t be any
paper towels or plastic garbage bags at your airbnb
and you will sob saying goodbye to your daughter. You will continue
to parent teenagers. An honor, for sure, but also so tiring
being a punching bag. You will go to Home Goods and
realize that death is just around the corner, and you will
not practice your therapist’s advice in order to pause that
catastrophic anxiety. The SATs will come and go. Your son will
curse at his computer screen while practicing. This will make
you feel, once again, like a bad mom. Your kids will roll their eyes
at you. A lot. Spring break will end, and all the poetry you write
will not stop school from coming in like a lion. Even your dog
will be embarrassed by you, although he is an old man, not a teenager.
The world of education will continue to go mad, citing research
that the powerful cherry pick. Meanwhile, you will go in and out
of classrooms finding joy but not realizing you should
have been paying attention to how the teachers took
lunch count. It will warm your heart to hear your cat play,
but she will be alone without her cat brothers which will
break your heart. People will be scared to voice their opinions,
and you will feel like a storm is coming. You will worry
that more things will be thrown out with the bath
water. Your dog will get sick which you won’t write about, because
ew, gross. You will try to remember that it won’t be winter
forever but anxiety will take hold as you wait
for a meeting. You will try to spend your energy thinking
about little joyful things. You will realize almost nobody
can be trusted, and that fumbling through
new things is in your future. A glass will get stuck in your
garbage disposal. You will lose faith, but you will always have poetry,
which will help you march on. Undappled won’t be the word you
want it to be. There will be too many questions in your head, and
you will search for answers. You will be reminded of betrayal, as if
you need to be reminded. Your filter will disintegrate,
and you will stop watching your face, but your connections
will just keep growing. You will be proud of your kids, even
when you have to use google translate. The Easter Bunny won’t
leave jelly beans on the piano, but there will be
a scavenger hunt for the teenagers, and then there will be
a quiet Sunday afternoon. Soon enough, it will be April.

Knock Knock Knock

March 15, 2024Pets, Slice of Lifeonathought

One night not long ago, I thought I heard a gentle knock on the door.
It was pretty late for a knock on the door, and I really hoped I was just hearing things. But, I heard it again, so I took a deep breath, summoned my courage and went to check it out. I reassured myself that it wasn’t a loud panicked knock.

As soon as I rounded the corner, I realized who it was. This was no scary night time problem! (Phew!)

It was just my cat, Talula, playing fetch with herself by throwing her favorite toy down the steps, retrieving it, walking back up the steps, and throwing it again. She’s a quiet cat so all you hear of her game is the bounce, bounce, bounce of the ball.

Which sounds a lot like a gentle knock, knock, knock on the door.

I remembered that this happened before, when the kids and I were playing a game in the dining room and thought someone was knocking on the door.

That was the first time we heard her do it, we set up a camera and caught her playing her clever game. Now we hear it every day, and know exactly what she’s doing.

She’s always loved to play fetch. Her favorite toy used to be a curled up pipe cleaner. Now, it’s a fun ball with a tail that she got for Christmas, and had to re-stock recently. I do wonder how many of those toys might be lost under my couch.

I know I find them on and at the bottom of the steps every day.

Often as I’m settling into bed I hear that bounce, bounce, bounce on the steps.

There’s something so sweet about it. She has a favorite toy, loves to play fetch, and can seemingly entertain herself!

There’s something so sad about it. I hope she likes to play alone, now that she’s the only cat.

She seems more personable — can you say that about a cat? She seems more… catable… now that she’s the only cat.

I hope she isn’t lonely, now that she’s the only cat.

I thinks she’s happy, now that she’s the only cat. When the dog is not around, she’s chatty, playful and snuggly, and she asks me to play fetch with her more. (Maybe she doesn’t want to make him feel bad since she is so much better at fetch than he is.)

Last night as I was settling in for bed, I heard the bound, bounce bounce. A minute later I looked down and saw my invitation.

If you’ve ever had a cat friend, you know this is no light request. You don’t deny those big cat eyes!

I threw it for her, and was surprised when I saw her across the room taking a rest instead of requesting more of her favorite game.

But a few minutes later I heard the bounce, bounce, bounce once again.

It’s a sweet sound to fall asleep to.

Talula
I hope she likes to play alone
She’s more personable on her own —
More playful, snuggly when the dog’s not home
I hope she’s not lonely, being alone

My dog, Finn

March 11, 2024Pets, Slice of Lifeonathought

If you see me walking around the neighborhood with my dog, Finn, there are a few things you have to understand.

I’ll tell you those things, but now I want to sing it.

If you see me walking by
With my dog on a leash
Look away, baby, look away.

(Couldn’t help it.)

He loves to sniff, and likes to stop often. But that’s not the issue. My ankle has been giving me problems, so I might be hobbling slowly along. But, that is also not the issue. Strangely enough, the fact that I will most likely be holding a bag of poop is also not the issue you need to understand.

You will see me talking to him along the way. It might even be in an odd accent you’ve never heard me speak in during my human interactions.

“Finny,” I might say, “You are the bestest dog.” That’s pretty normal, for dog folks, I think.

But I might also try to have a little extra conversation with him.

“Your birthday bandana is so handsome on you! You have to wear it a few more days since it’s your birthday week, Finny!”

I might even ask him questions, like, “Do you think I should try to do my work as soon as I get home, Finny? Or should I maybe sit on the couch and read? Or, I could write!”

The most embarrassing thing though, is that most likely, my “loyal” pooch will be totally ignoring me, sniffing his nose into the sun and all the leaf piles, wagging his tail, and checking out the neighborhood. Sometimes if I’m very insistent, saying “Finnegan. Don’t you want to look at me? Remember I’m the one walking you!” He will reluctantly turn his head just a little and look at me with dissapointment.

He’s embarrassed to be seen with me, I think.

Sometimes I put my AirPods in and listen to a book or a podcast, but then I feel bad for ignoring him. But something tells me that’s the way he prefers his walks.

Please understand —

If I look like I’m plugged into my AirPods, ignoring my dog, that is because of how he wants it! If you see my dog ignoring me, that is because he has an attitude, and doesn’t want me to bother him on our walks. It’s embarrassing.

So…

If you see me walking by
With my dog on a leash
Look away, baby, look away…
And if we meet on the streets someday
And I don’t know what to say (to my dog)
Look away, baby, look away
Don’t look at me
I don’t want you to see me this way

Here are a few pictures of the bestest dog with an attitude: