Pause and Ponder

Welcome to my newsletter which will provide updates on my forthcoming book, Dog Love Stories—The Canines Who Changed Me, out on March 18^th, 2025.

How good it is to hear about those of you doing the 20 second hugs I wrote about in last month’s newsletter Have you hugged someone today? It means a lot to me to hear your responses and what my words have brought to your mind and heart. I’m not able to respond to everyone, but I do read your messages. I’m grateful to Jean Alger for editing and posting the newsletter. Also, thank you for the preorders you’ve made; they are such a powerful way to support authors you care about.

Bill frequently asked me to slow down, often grabbing me on a hike and pulling me back.

photo by Sidney Braquet

On the rare occasion when we went into the grocery store together, I would zip through the aisles while he paused and pondered over some product, frequently bringing home things I had never heard of. My friend Peggy used to encourage me to mosey on our walks, asking what the hurry was. How I’d love to have one more chance to go slower with Bill or to mosey with Peggy.

My dogs have also taught me to slow down. Goodness the pug mix was the worst slowpoke, wanting to sniff every blessed thing on our walks—although it did give me a chance to see more birds. Gavroche the terrier mix pulled back on the leash while he left his pee-mail or read another dog’s message, giving me plenty of opportunities to practice patience.

Jill Sager, SheWritesPress author of Guidance from the Universe: Hopeful Messages for Everyday Challenges, chats with me in the following videos.¹

And now Mercy my husky/cattle dog/miniature poodle mix often paws me when she feels a change in my emotions, or she will pin me to a chair and insist I keep my hand on her head when grief begins to overwhelm me, especially here in the anniversary month of Bill’s death. Stop doing and just be, is the message I get from her. Not just for my healing, but for hers, too.

Life rearranges when we are forced to live in a different configuration of a family, like the one person/one dog family Mercy and I are now a part of. Hearts cracking open doesn’t stop the need to face change and attempt to adjust. Each dog’s death in my life has helped me with the eventual loss of the next dog, and even with losing my human, though that has been even more befuddling. With every loss I am reminded how grief can’t be rushed. My best advice to self: go slow and carry my grief with patience and tenderness.

What has helped you carry the grief of losing a beloved pet or human? I would love to hear stories about your pets. How have you observed your pets responding to grief? Comment or message me with your story, and please send a photo of your pet if you’d like.

Reading

Here is a taste of my book about my red heeler/cattle dog mix, Amber Grace (who died on Jan 25, 2018), getting dog dementia that I read at our local bookstore.²

sketch of Amber Grace by Tom Laetz

Travel

Traveling is slowly coming into focus, but firm dates/times/reading locations have yet to be set. Here is the loose schedule at present:

• March 21, 6PM Alamosa, CO, Narrow Gage Book Cooperative in Alamosa, CO. You can RSVP here, if you’ll be able to attend: RSVP

April

• Friday, April 4, 6:30PM, BookWoman Bookstore—Austin, TX

• Friday, April 11, details to come—Houston, TX

• Later in April—Palm Springs, CA

May

• Early May—Arcata, CA

• Later in May—working on Denver

June

• Early June—Durango, CO

• Later in June—Boulder, CO

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1. All videos credited to Matt Struck

2. All videos credited to Matt Struck