Here’s to us

Here’s to us

It’s been a while since I’ve felt like blogging about Oz. We’ve had a year–with Oz’s epilepsy diagnosis, then his CCL tear/TPLO surgery. But a moment at the end of our hike today inspired me. Oz and I have been through a lot in his three and a half years. We’ve...
RESILIENCE

RESILIENCE

nor·mal adjective Conforming to a standard; usual, typical, or expected. In our most difficult months, weeks, days, hours, I would sometimes think about how things might’ve been different for Oz and I. If we had been dealt a different deck of cards, if things were...
Roller coaster

Roller coaster

Backslides in any type of dog training can be difficult. Frustrating. Demoralizing. Heart-breaking. And the more difficult the problem, the more difficult the backslide becomes. The more progress you make, the harsher the backslide feels. I know this all too well. In...
Climb Your Own Mountain

Climb Your Own Mountain

I’ll be the first to admit that it can be pretty easy to fall into a trap of comparing your own journey to the ever rotating highlight reels that haunt Facebook newsfeeds. However, I also know it’s important to remember that no two journeys are the same. No two...
Ode to a blue dog

Ode to a blue dog

An ode to the blue dog who started it all. He was the first one to teach me the joy in a behavioral challenge. The first one to teach me that a dog who throws off your expectations can sometimes be the best thing that can happen to you. He was the dog that first...
Sh*t happens

Sh*t happens

I am still in the process of shedding my need to be Oz’s superwoman, who can shelter him from everything in the world that might ever upset him. I am letting go of my overly-vigilant self who gave me literal stress pains. I am letting go of my invisible Oz-sized...