Tom Swift Writer’s Notebook

I would have skipped over this piece three years ago — that is, before our first dog arrived and quickly raised my awareness of creatures large and small, legged and winged, that I previously disregarded — and what fascinating stuff I would have missed. Such as:
“Most young birds, even those hatched just weeks ago, don’t [...]

“Prairie dogs are an adaptive species,” says Lindsey Sterling Krank, director of the Prairie Dog Coalition. “They are in peril and need help — as do all the species dependent on prairie dog colonies.” Here to help.

Travel tip: don’t treat your dog as luggage.

From Milan Kundera:
“To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring — it was peace.”

Even before I read the first word of this article I had a visceral reaction to it. The accompanying photographs — my eyes tend to skip over photographs in magazines — affected me in a manner that is difficult to articulate. I knew, immediately I knew, I was not going to like what I was [...]

We walked around, saw the falls, and poked about the park. I had been on my feet most of the day after a short night of sleep and had misjudged how much farther we had to reach the designated area where dogs are allowed to run unencumbered by a leash. Once there we still had [...]

Speaking of kind faces, it took us even less time to locate another new (to us) haunt in this familiar place: the pooch park. Actually, there are two dog parks in these parts, which weeks later still strikes me as cool. The Beast’s birthplace was more than three times as large and didn’t contain a [...]

I thought the Beast killed a bird. Turns out, the little thing was just scared stiff. Understandable.

I was waiting on the Beast to do his thing this morning when I turned to the Onion for an exclusive report on a related topic.

The Savage Beast is usually the smallest pooch at the park and he is always the fastest. Last night we let him run with the big dogs — an option that would be puppy abuse if not for his wheels. I brought reading material along but I didn’t get through much of it. As soon [...]

Somehow, I understated the matter. Apparently, those of us with two legs aren’t the only ones on drugs. Though it isn’t the most artfully crafted article I’ve read, the piece provides useful observations about animal behavior that explain a few things about the Beast.

The Savage Beast can transform the very nature of man. Or at least the very nature of one man. Used to be that any repeated sound that could evoke thoughts of “bird” and “torture,” a sound very much like the one produced by his newest toy, would make me come unhinged. But no longer! Now [...]

I heard this two-minute bit the other morning while walking the Savage Beast. We were in the middle of a small field of over-grown grass, the usual a.m. jaunt, and I couldn’t control the giggling. He stopped, tilted his head and looked good and long — looked at me as though I was no longer [...]

He’s turned my slippers into a mid-afternoon snack. Several times. He’s gone after my nose as though removing it might be fun. He’s kept me up nights. And woken me with his tongue. He blew the yearly puppy budget three months in.
But, for the first time, I became truly mad at the savage beast this [...]

“Chief Bender’s Burden” has been nominated for the 2008 Midwest Booksellers’ Choice Awards. The ballot is, naturally, open only to Midwest area booksellers. If you are one of those and you happen to be reading this post, first, I am sorry Google led you astray and, second, I would sincerely appreciate your support during this [...]

The pooch park is a brilliant invention. The savage beast can run as he should, amongst his own, unencumbered, and I don’t have to intervene until blood is spilled or the others go home. It’s even better when the kinder, gentler person in my marriage is there, too, as was the case last night. After [...]

Seems like only three months ago that Barry first blessed our world … hey, come to think of it … and look at him now: a graduate of puppy education class.
Last night was the big one. Admittedly, he didn’t do so well on the final. He’s not a strong test-taker. Just like me. But in [...]