I am the worst sort of person to be in customer service. I’ve learned this more clearly over the years, but I knew it from the time I was 16, and began my first job with a drive-in A&W, in a smallish town, where I found I was very unsuited for waiting on people who […]

Hank’s education began during the first week that I met him. I didn’t know this then. My first week spent in North Carolina was mainly spent getting to know the woman I’d come there in the first place for. But she had shared some stories of him over the phone, and I’d come to know […]

It’s my partner’s birthday this Saturday. I won’t be there to help her celebrate it. We’re in a long distance relationship, and this is how it’s going to work out sometimes. She wasn’t present for mine. But she made the effort to pay attention to things I’d said, things I had mentioned I liked, and […]

When training dogs, it’s always important to remember that you, as the trainer, are not the most important part of that dog’s world. The most important part of that dog’s world is his number one person.  In my opinion, I think some trainers possess an attitude of, if that “misbehaving” dog were their dog, that […]

Hank’s training goes on without me currently. But I laid some very important groundwork.She now refers to him as my dog. As in, “Your dog was very playful this morning.” Or, “Your dog jumped on the bed tonight, but I politely asked him to get off, and he did.” I softly remind her that he […]

Have you ever played a game of marbles? Small things, I believe, create big things. It’s all about opportunity.For the past 8 weeks, I have basically written nothing. I’m in the middle of a novel, and I have written next to nothing. Oh, I’ve penned the odd thought or two, and I’ve typed in a […]