Tom Swift Writer’s Notebook

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 [...]

So sweet and innocent … or not.

Go potty. Go potty!
Excuse me. A reflex these days.

The kind person in my marriage thumbed through one my books this morning and read these lines. The sum total of my experience is about three weeks, but it’s about right.

Can dogs see ghosts? Or are they just stupid?
Barry sometimes barks in a curious way, while darting back, as though there is something in front of him when definitely there is not. At least not according to my human eyes.

The next thing you know you wake up spread out in an awkward position somewhere other than your own bed … your mouth open and so dry you could swear there’s a bone in there … wearing remnants of the party … beside a stranger whose name you can’t place.

To celebrate the end of his first week in captivity (I haven’t made any fatal mistakes — yet), tonight we took Barry to Mardi Gras to see a raucous parade and meet Crash Davis. And it didn’t take long before I learned an invaluable lesson: If your goal is to acquire a lot of beads [...]

OK, we’ll go to the shelter, again. We’ll make a pass through the pups section, again. Yes, we will go. Again. Then we’ll work out, have lunch, and resume our puppyless lives.
My resistance had been broken down by the generous person in my marriage — at least to the point where I was willing to [...]