Blog Posts

“Angel came down from heaven yesterday; she stayed with me just long enough to rescue me.” The words are Jimi Hendrix’s. I’ve been listening to the song for the past eight months dreading this day. I began to hum them the day I learned Penelope would die as a result of her...

It’s been awhile since I’ve written about my dogs, Odysseus and Penelope, but I swear they have been giving me tutorials in the law, teaching me about loyalty and zealous advocacy, the two most important qualities any criminal defense lawyer must have. I’ve learned more about...

If it is in fact true that one year in the life of a dog is equivalent to seven years in the life of a human, my dogs, Penelope and Odysseus, and I are now about the same age. That would be a good thing, I suppose, were it not for the fact that all three of us limp along most days showing signs...

My wife took me to breakfast with our two surrogate children, Odysseus and Penelope, bright and early this morning. She found a dog friendly restaurant in Wellfleet, on Cape Cod, where we are hiding out for a long weekend. She said breakfast out was the dogs’ idea, a father’s day treat....

The critics use terms like "shameless" to describe Steven Spielberg’s new film, "War Horse." I say shame on the critics. This adaptation of the novel by Michael Morpurgo succeeds as a sustained meditation on faithfulness. If the story seems fantastic, and it is, so much the worse for us: what...

The dogs are a little subdued this morning. They get that way when my wife is not at home. We have our routines, and the dogs make sure we stick to them. Remove my wife and suddenly chaos beckons. But it is Thanksgiving, and if the dogs had longer memories, they would realize that she spends the...

My wife keeps calling today to inquire whether I have voted. "No," I answer. I don't think I am going to this year. All of the candidates look like a bunch of phonies. I can't figure out what they are talking about most of the time.
"You need to consider the lesser of two evils," she...

The dogs know something up. I swear it. I am sitting with a cup of coffee planning the day. Odysseus saunters up tossing a sock into the air. I take the sock, reminding him that they are not toys. He sits looking at me; his sister Penny hustles over, she sits too. They are extra obedient this...

One thing that dogs teach is patience. Odysseus has taught me plenty. When it comes to sheep, he is a monster. I can train him only at the cost of hurting him. That's a step I am unwilling to take.
Ody is a border collie, a member of a breed cultivated for its instinct in herding sheep. But in...

My few regular readers know that dogs are an important part of my life. My two border collies, Odysseus and Penelope, run our pack during vacation season. So we are heading out bright and early Saturday morning to an off-the-Internet location to spend six days playing with sheep, working on agility...