I dreamed of you last night but it wasn’t you it was another dog who looked just like you but I was only borrowing her at the whim of some unseen and uncaring entity sometimes the dog was there and...  read

I've been so focused on my book for the past year or more that I can't even remember the last time I posted an Ella update here to the blog. I find that unconscionable, so I'm here to remedy that....  read

I'm sorry, Ella, but you have to accept it. If you drag me a mile and a half to the park through a slushy wasteland on the front end of our walk, then there's no getting around a mile and...  read

How can you live with a dog, with its lifespan of ten to fifteen years, and not realize how quickly the clock is ticking?  read

Old man walking an old dog Not so very long ago would have been Old man walking a young dog Not so very long from now might it be Old man walking a young dog again Once upon a time...  read

This morning, with a high of seventy degrees in the forecast, amazing for a November in Chicago, I drove the dog to Warren Park. That's where we go for a special treat instead of our usual neighborhood walk, because the...  read

if       poop then       scoop  read

Earlier from the second-story deck I caught a glimpse of the gate slamming shut as Ella chased someone out of the yard. Her wild barking was what had summoned me. The thunk of something landing solidly on the wooden deck...  read

Let me tell you a story. This morning I was out walking the dog, who, honestly, can be a grouchy pain in the ass. But today she was pretty good. It was clear and cold, being October, and we had...  read

sleeping puppy feet pressed against my human toes twitch in doggish dreams  read