dogs

Dotty Rates Poop!

Sunde White illustrates an essay about her puppy Dotty eating poop

Our new puppy Dotty thinks poop is a delicious delicacy–so nuanced, so varied.  I am writing this on her behalf based on her expressions of delight, stubborn insistence or indifference about eating each type of poop.  I would like to take this moment to brag that she doesn’t eat her own poop or ReeRee’s so […]

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The Shoes

sunde white illustrates a valentine's day story about her dog loving her husband first

When I first met Britt, my now husband, he wore brown pointy toed loafers with buckles strapped across the top.  When I say he wore them, I mean he wore them everywhere.  Like the first time I picked him up to go surfing, he was wearing his casual weekend outfit which apparently was pleated khaki […]

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ReeRee The Bonsai Tree

Sunde White illustrates her essay about saving her dog from an abuser that was starving her.

My dog ReeRee’s seemingly super natural ability to have explosive and unpredictable diarrhea throughout the day, saved her life and brought her into our care.  Her tormentor, the abuser that she lived with in a small studio apartment, couldn’t take it anymore.  When she finally realized that cursing and hitting ReeRee wouldn’t put a stop […]

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Jasmine’s Baby

Sunde White illustrates her essay about adopting her second pitbull because her first dog loved her so much

When we first got ReeRee we thought we were just going to foster her.  We immediately started searching for a new home for her because we thought having two large dogs in an apartment would be impossible. Our dog Jasmine loved her but two dogs, two pitbulls in a city apartment? No way.  Yes, Jasmine […]

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Little Dog, A Haiku

sunde white illustrates her haiku about a little dog in a sweater she keeps seeing

For the past week I’ve been seeing a tiny little white dog that I’ve never seen before.  It’s winter time so he’s always wearing a blue and yellow hooded sweater.  Every day I see this dog.  I think he might be visiting since I’ve never seen his mom before either and if he’s not with […]

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Princess ReeRee

sunde white illustrates a story about her pitbull's sensitive paws

When we first rescued ReeRee we realized that she had a thing about her feet.  She abhorred having her feet touch water.  If it was raining, we would have to carry her outside, set her down on a dry spot under a tree and stand with an umbrella over her until she’d go pee. I […]

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Don’t Judge a Dog By Its Muzzle

Sunde White illustrates her essay about not judging muzzled dogs

Sometimes, when I walk by a barking dog waiting outside a grocery store, I’ll stop and keep him or her company until the owner comes out.   It calms the dog’s anxiety down and allows the owner to shop in peace without worrying about annoying everyone in the neighborhood with their barking dog. A couple of […]

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What My Dogs Are Reading! #2

Sunde White illustrates her dog's book reviews

A Gentleman In Moscow by Amor Towles At first Jasmine thought this was one of the most boring books ever written.  She felt like the writer really loved to over describe things for no reason except for the luxury of it.  “I mean,” panted Jasmine in exasperation, “there were entire pages dedicated to a book […]

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18 Sleeping Positions of a Dog Owner

I haven’t had a good, uninterrupted night’s sleep in over twenty years.  Not since I got my first dog DeeDee, a pitbull with very little need for personal space.  Although back when I had her I was single so we made it work, sharing a whole bed between the two of us.  Then my husband […]

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What My Dogs Are Reading Now, Installment #1

ReeRee The Testaments Margaret Atwood   As a feminist, ReeRee thinks the long awaited, well timed sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale is great.  Usually she doesn’t like books told by a few different narrators but in this case it is really effective in answering all the questions she’s ever had about the dystopian country, The […]

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Ollie, You Will Be Missed

Welp, Ollie the dog has taken the Hamburger Hot Rod Express up to heaven and we will all miss him terribly.  I only got to know Ollie when he was a bit older.  He visited us one Christmas when his family went away for the holidays.  I had never met such a confident dog.  He […]

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Zero to 1000

Because of her upbringing, ReeRee can go from zero to 1000 on the anxiety scale within seconds.  Over reacting is her thing.  When she’s stressed she growls, lunges, nibbles and then frantically kisses where she’s nibbled, begging you to forgive her.  Being restricted in any way triggers her anxiety and she can lash out, so […]

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Happy Dogentine’s Day!

I am officially announcing a new holiday to replace the current single shaming, romance pressuring, limp rose, Hallmark invented holiday of Valentine’s Day.  I present to you: Dogentine’s Day!  No love is as pure as the love between a dog and their person. My first Dogentine was dropped off at my apartment by a friend.  […]

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The Dog Racist

Remember back in the 80’s when we’d settle around the TV to watch Miami Vice on a Saturday night and every time there was a drug dealer on there’d also be ferociously barking Rottweilers and German Shepherds?  And everyone was like, omg, Rotweilers and German Shepherds are so scary, only drug dealers have them!  Well […]

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Jasmine’s Fashion Analysis!

Jasmine looks adorable no matter what, obviously, but I’m going to be honest with you—she does have a tendency to over accessorize.  This is her every day out and about style.   She’s kind of a safety first type of dog so most of her outfit is for her own protection.  Like, she has one collar […]

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Pitbull Powers Activate!

Pitbulls were once known as the Nanny Dog and the dog of the working class people.  It was the most common type of dog in America.  The pitbull’s warm and sensitive nature and interest in pleasing their owner is why they are beloved pets but it is also why they are taken advantage of by […]

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The Golden Years

  Fact:  Senior dogs are the best dogs.  They know the routine, how to communicate, how to act.  They’re polite, gentle, disciplined and calm.  It seems like they can read your mind, they’re always prepared for your every move. They don’t bound and spring through the world anymore, but who cares?  Neither do older humans.  […]

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How Many Pounds Is A Whale Poop?

Because my dog ReRe is an innovative go getter she made the decision early on that when she has to poop at the beach it’s best to wade knee deep into the ocean and let the waves immediately dissolve and wash away any evidence of it.  This makes people furious.  They like to lecture me […]

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The Tidy Raccoon, Part 2: Urban Eco-System

I’ve had a dream of growing grass in my mud pit of a backyard ever since I got my big, glorious dog Jasmine.  Her two favorite things to do are relaxing and luxuriating and relaxing and luxuriating on grass.  So this September I dug out all the useless clay soil around my patio and replaced […]

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Why I Love Crows (Reason #27)

#27 Because they play team sports in the air. It’s true, I witnessed this myself a few years ago.  Hiking in a windy valley I saw 8 or 9 crows flying and swooping high above me, chasing each other.  I stopped to watch and realized they weren’t just randomly flying, they were playing catch with […]

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Nature’s Gonna Nature

I was waiting at a stop light one afternoon when a big hawk dropped out of the sky in front of my windshield.  He snatched a pigeon out of mid air and landed with it on the roof of a car next to me.  The light turned green and I drove away still watching the […]

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A Very Sad Dog Story

Years ago a little Brazilian shop opened up next to the place I do yoga.  The owner happened to live down the block from me and I would see her and her little black and white dog, PePe walking to the store each day.  He was a blocky little Chihuahua   mix that liked his freedom.  […]

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My 8 Legged Valentine

My valentine has eight legs, two heads, floppy ears, velvet skin and drools when presented with string cheese. My valentine gets farty after eating eggs, is not a reader and can’t hold down a job. But my valentine is hopelessly devoted, has endless kisses and never judges me. My valentine loves car rides, long walks […]

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