Lost starving in an iron labyrinth of kiosks Found darting through the scurry of strange feet Lost to the offer of escape Found staring through the open door Lost your fear Found my playfulness Lost a country Found a home Lost a mother Found resilience Lost your place sleeping at my feet Found your way…
Ben ~ In Memoriam
It was a rainy morning, a forecast filled with tears. Ben, the miracle dog, has left us, left my hearth, but not my heart. These past few days have been the saddest of my life — and that isn’t hyperbole. It seems only right that it has poured rain almost non-stop here for two days, save…
Recipe for Low-Phosphorus Dog Food ~ Caring for a Dog with Chronic Renal Failure
After 18 years, Ben, my longtime dog, was diagnosed with chronic renal failure three months ago. Failing some other catastrophic illness, his vet of 11 years has said this will be the ‘thing’ that finally takes Ben from this world and my life. Having said that, Ben still clearly has a lot of life and love left…
18 Forever ….
My boy … my friend … my companion … my muse … my spiritual guide and teacher. My Ben …. On April 25th, Benjamin reached the truly remarkable milestone of 18 years. He has seen two centuries, three decades, two countries, two continents, five cities … and more than anything, he has seen me grow…
His News
The news: a bark that bites through my heart Words on a screen scratching at my soul My world shakes and it flings me down I choke on the hairy diagnosis And it claws at my breaking eyes. The clock chimes, the hands move, Eighteen years are now ticking , Sands caught in his paws, now…
Homemade Super Dog Food … aka Ben’s Breakfast
If I have a finger for every love in my life, one is given to food and another one, likely an opposable thumb, is given to Ben, my dog. Together, those two loves have produced this recipe for homemade dog food which I have been feeding to my super/wonder-dog for years. For those new to…
Adjustments
Chapter 3: Canadian Soil (continued from My Canadian Eyesight) I am not going to share pictures of this, but over my four years abroad, I had discovered a Bohemian that was living inside me … and I had the attire, the long hair (yes) and the beard to prove it. Honestly, in the moment, it…
My Canadian Eyesight
Chapter 3: Canadian Soil (continued from Panic Attacks) Home is a blur. I mean that in all manners: it was fast, sensory overload, a long-time ago, and it was disconcerting. I know that I experienced full-on culture shock. I remember walking Ben on the streets at dusk thinking that someone had quietly dropped a neutron…
Panic Attacks
Chapter 3: Canadian Soil (continued from Export) Leaving Poland was surreal and it remains surreal in my memory. Once we returned from Turkey on October 20, we had but a week remaining to finalize our departure. The Bolesławiec had been shipped before we left for Turkey. After investigating all options for transport, I elected to…
A Dog’s Life – A Celebration of Ben
With apologies, I can’t invite all my blog followers and readers to this event. However, I wanted to share with you what will be happening to celebrate Ben’s milestone. As much as I wanted to celebrate it this weekend, schedules didn’t entirely conform to the date of Ben’s birthday, so we’re going to have a…