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Meet Rooney. She is a female Great Dane, who lacks confidence.  Her insecurity has led to frequent panic attacks and frightening episodes of aggression around her family. A large dog with high anxiety is like mixing oil and water. It’s messy! I am not a dog “whisperer.” I don’t have a television show, and I don’t have a syndicated column that I write. I have never spoken to thousands of adoring fans on a nationwide t

Cousteau was on my lap, like a remora is to a shark – always attached. He’s been that way for 15 years. On this particular morning, he jarred himself out of a dead sleep with his typical and agonizing announcement that he is going to throw up. “Nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah!” “Oh! C’mon Cousteau. I just got comfortable.” All six dogs came scurrying into the living room as though the

As I exited the kennel, with Sadie by my side, our Office Manager, Jan,  said, “Peter, that story you wrote about Sadie the other day still cracks me up.” I jokingly replied, “You know, I’ve got a bit of writer’s block. I need something to happen so I can write another story.” Sadie was doing wonderful in all her obedience exercises, on-leash. I wanted to give her a little freedom

A stiff wind blew the light and fluffy snow into my face. It was abrasive like a luffa sponge. When I was a child, my mother used to slather Vaseline on my face when I would go on a day-long sledding adventure. Today, a scarf would have sufficed. Sadie, a two-year old Corgi/Collie mix walked in a perfect heel position as we trudged along through the freshly fallen snow of Storm Hercules. The “feels like”

For months, I’ve been struggling with self confidence as a writer. Am I good enough? Who reads or cares about what I have to say anyway? Do my words make a difference to anyone? As fate, or more correctly, God’s grace would have it, I changed my mind today. Earlier today, I let our dogs outside. They became fixated on a big green pick-up truck that was stopped in the middle of our dead-end street. A young

My task: Weigh Leroy, the chocolate lab. Sounds easy enough right? Insert an inconvenience: The scale is on the second floor. I put a leash on Leroy, and he respectfully walked with me towards the stairs. You’re a nice dog. You don’t pull too much on the leash. As I began to climb the stairs I felt the leash became taut behind me. I tried to continue but Leroy wasn’t following. Hmm. Is he being a br

Imagine that you play the position of shortstop for a baseball team. You have played the position for seven years. You are an athlete. You have a strong skill set that complements your abundance of talent. All of a sudden, you are asked to switch positions. You now have to play the position of second base. You tell yourself, “No problem.” Suddenly, reality hits you. You find yourself fumbling with your fo

The ruptured blisters on my feet made it painful to walk on the scorching pavement of the Orlando city streets. The blazing sun and humidity of summer stole my breath and sapped what little energy I had left. My stomach ached from the hunger pains of not eating a solid meal in weeks. The bounty of fat I once carried was gone, exposing my ribs. Parasites lived on my flesh. The open sores from their bites hurt my skin.

Today is a day we celebrate the holiday of Thanksgiving. To some, this is merely a day off from work or school, a trip to Grandma’s house, having a turkey dinner in the middle of the afternoon, and watching football. It’s a break from a normal routine. For me, it means none of those things. Lately, I have been investing my thoughts and emotions and giving my time and effort to help strangers find their lo

The clock couldn’t move fast enough. For hours, my brain instructed my body to carry out the task of dealing blackjack at a local casino; it was my job. Meanwhile, my emotions were screaming at me, “What are you doing here? Isn’t Shadow more important than this?” Yes, he most certainly is. But I have bills to pay and gas to put in the car. I need the money. Just leave me alone and let me finis