Dogs
Miracle Day for Brillo
Part Four Post-Surgical Success! 2023 Every day since Brillo’s bilateral cataract surgery has brought new discoveries for us. Due to the delay in treatment because the first doctor told me Brillo was “not a candidate for cataract surgery”, he did experience a few days of post-operative glaucoma. Dr. Matt had us return every day for…
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Part Three—My Aging Dog 2020-2022 Brillo’s eyesight was overtaken by cloudy white cataracts. He was fourteen when a veterinary ophthalmologist told me he was “not a surgical candidate” for cataract removal. Brillo became isolated in his deafness and blindness. His outgoing personality receded into unsureness around dogs he didn’t know, new environments, and experiences he…
Read MoreMiracle Day for Brillo
by Sunny Weber 2023 Brillo stood in the far corner of the yard, sniffing. I remained vigilant at the sliding glass patio door, as I always do. Brillo is seventeen pounds of Lhasa Apso focus, Shih Tzu cuteness, and Schnauzer self-confidence. In other words, a muttly mix of energy and ego. His head came up…
Read MoreProtecting the Vulnerable
I awoke again today to my next-door neighbor’s two Shetland Sheepdogs barking. They are like wind-up toys—the minute they shoot out of their back door, they dodge around the yard yapping. They do not quiet until they are back inside. The old man often lets the dogs out early or late, and has been cited…
Read MoreIs a Life-long Commitment On Your Gift List? Gifts of Pets From/To Others
“Hello, I was given a dog for Christmas and cannot get a leash on her. She is ruining my apartment because I can’t get her outside. Can you help me?” This email came through my website (www.sunnyweber.com) two weeks after the holidays. I immediately responded and asked for the woman’s phone number. I knew the…
Read MoreNot All Working Dogs Have Job Titles
Jessie was scheduled for euthanasia as a “behavior problem”–a separation anxiety nutcase, a house destroyer, a crazy bag of bones abandoned. He came to me for behavioral rehab. His intelligence, sensitivity, and 100% reliability with all other animals and humans of all ages was almost missed–until he graciously showed me what he needed. I understood…
Read MoreSome Dogs
Some dogs don’t move you to poetry. Some dogs quietly, slowly, meld themselves into literature’s prose; not flowery, not romantic, not shiny. Jessie was a dog who grew slowly into a soul mate. He arrived frantic, anxious—a house destroyer, a wreck of rejection, an abandoned teenager who had lost everything he knew in a dog’s…
Read MoreTeaching Children to Think Independently & Humanely
How do we as parents, teach our children to respect authority and yet think independently enough to decipher and reject illegal, immoral, or dangerous demands from those more powerful than they are—especially when we are not present to protect them? We want to protect our kids from harm, yet they may face adults or peers…
Read MoreHumane Education Through Storytelling: The Pups & Purrs Children’s Book Series–Part Three
In our final segment, let’s tie up the two previous segments featured in this blog post, their importance, and how books can bring us the tools to reach out to middle grade children as they approach their individual “coming-of-age” challenges. In Part One we learned: “Coming-of-age” books try to address emotional and social challenges that…
Read MoreHumane Education Through Storytelling: The Pups & Purrs Children’s Book Series–Part 2
In this segment of “Humane Education through Storytelling” we will examine the roll of parents, educators, counselors, and humane educators in reaching and turning potential young animal abusers into caring, respectful pet custodians. Reading life-like stories about animals and seeing the world through those animals’ eyes can engage youthful empathy and motivate conversations with trusted…
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