Cure for Loneliness

"Many researchers are finding that the most serious disease for older persons is not cancer or heart disease—it's loneliness...Love is the most important health tonic we have and pets are one of nature's best sources of love..."

What makes all living situations easier, more fun, engaging and loving? Many feel that adding children and pets to our lives gives us all these positive things and more.

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The Tenth Good Thing About Barney

When I had to say goodbye to my dog Barney, to comfort me, a friend sent a little illustrated book entitled The Tenth Good Thing About Barney by Judith Viorst.

It’s a touching story of a boy whose cat dies. He is so sad and misses his little cat. He cries himself to sleep. Before he falls asleep, his mom tells him they can have a funeral and suggests he think of 10 good things about his cat Barney.

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Boys and Their Dogs—A Different Perspective

“When you teach your son, you teach your son's son.”—Talmud
 
Dogs helping boys helping dogs. That’s the equation at Totem Town in St. Paul where delinquent boys first learn to chill, then learn a skill—and everybody wins.

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Amen! To Canine Parishioners

A Dog's Prayer for His Owner
O Lord of humans, make my master faithful to his fellow men as I am to him. Grant that he may be as devoted to his friends and family as I am to him.
May he be open-faced and undeceptive as I am; may he be true to trust reposed in him as I am to his.
Give him a face cheerful like unto my wagging tail. Give him a spirit of gratitude like unto my flicking tongue.

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El Duke

Often did the old priest send for him, and seek to teach him the love of living things, saying to him: “The fly is thy brother. Do him no harm. The wild birds that roam through the forest have their freedom. Snare them not for thy pleasure. God made the blindworm and the mole, and each has its place. Who art thou to bring pain into God’s world? Even the cattle of the field praise Him.”—Oscar Wilde’s story "The Star Child" from the Complete Fairy Tales

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World’s Ugliest Dog

I wiped away the weeds and foam, I fetched my sea-born treasures home;
But the poor, unsightly, noisome things,
Had left their beauty on the shore,
With the sun and the sand and the wild uproar.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson

A prominent under-bite, scrunched face, tongue hanging out, crazy hairdo, screwed up mouth, are some of the hallmarks of a winner. The winner of the World's Ugliest Dog contest, that is.

It began in the year 2000 as a spoof of the famous breed shows and it’s hilarious.

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World’s Oldest Dog

None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.—Henry David Thoreau

I worry about my Dachshund, Schnappsy, who is 15 years old and recently, had a minor stroke. Sad with thoughts of impermanence, a friend comforted me and said, "Maybe Schnappsy will be another Otto.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

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The Healing Touch

Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.—Helen Keller

I remember using the TTouch on my dog, Sukha, before I ever read Linda Tellington’s book The Tellington Touch.

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Rufus: Angel on a Leash

Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow.
Don't walk behind me, I may not lead.
Just walk beside me and be my friend.
—Albert Camus

A young girl is wheeled into the playroom by her mother. She's wearing a wig and it's obvious she is not well. The moment she sets eyes on the dog, Rufus, her face lights up.

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Penny From Heaven...Or From Harlem to the Hamptons

"I looked at all the caged animals...the cast-offs of human society. I saw in their eyes love and hope, fear and dread, sadness and betrayal. And I was angry.

"God," I said, "this is terrible! Why don't you do something?"

God was silent for a moment and then He spoke softly.

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