Dogs are Magic
I love dogs. Not a hugely controversial opinion, in fact this is likely one of the least controversial things I’ll ever write on the internet.
Dogs are pretty amazing as a species. I have a long history dog’s from working on dog behavior, training as a grooming for a time, teaching positive reinforcement training and in fact one of my first jobs in high school was at a doggy daycare. I trained under one of the top positive reinforcement trainers in the country at the time.
When my older child went to college last fall, the younger lobbied us hard for an “emotional support animal” to help get them through the transition and loneliness of missing their older sibling. They made a very compelling case actually, and so in April of this year, Mimi joined our family.
She’s 9 months old and such a puppy, but also very bright, food motivated (girl, same) and a great adventurer.
As someone who’s exclusively lived with cats for the past 5 years, I had forgotten there is a creature who lives in your house who actually wants to hang out with you. Doesn’t mind being semi-aggressively snuggled, and is highly trainable.
Don’t get me wrong, I adore the cats, but the dog vibe is so different, and I’ve enjoyed getting back in to it.
What’s the best thing about your dog?
Update — This post originally appeared on Substack in August, 2023. Mimi is now 13 months old, and coming out of her puppy phase, a bit ore into a teenager doggo. I’m still completely smitten. :)
What I’m thinking about today : Learning some new jokes. My current repertoire is getting old. Please share favorite jokes in the comments.
Favorite link of today: Meetup - When I lived in Minneapolis, Meetup seemed like it was just used for the tech folks. I had an account but I was rarely active. When I moved to Portland in 2018 I quickly realized that one of the main ways to create a community of like minded folks was to join (or start) a meetup. When I didn’t find a strong community in my kiddo’s school - like I had typically done in the past, I started a Ladies Drinking group - which is hilarious for many reasons, the least of which is I am not really a drinker - but it was a way to meet other women and try new venues. If you are in the Portland Area, and identify as nonbinary or a women, and want to join us, lemme know and I’ll share the link to my group.
Read this Book: The Joy of Cooking, by Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, et al. I’m not known for my cooking abilities by any stretch of the imagination - but I really enjoy reading about new dishes, and ways of making things that are beyond my skill set.
