Wagaliciousness Begins Here!

Do you love dogs? Yeah, me, too. We’re in good company – a third of the world’s households have at least one dog, and most people consider their dog (or dogs) to be part of the family.

That describes my family – we had a dog as soon as Mom thought my youngest brother was old enough to understand the difference between a stuffed toy dog and a real live one and behave accordingly.  One day Dad brought home a little black and tan ball of cuteness – big brown eyes, ears that aaaaaaalmost stood up, and a long tail that never stopped wagging. It was love at first sight, a love story that lasted nearly 16 years.

Pixie was an accident. Dad worked with a guy who had a Pekingese, and his next-door neighbors had a Chihuahua. Things happened and 63 days later there were 5 little oopsies looking for homes. Pixie landed in ours. Let’s just say Dad was a sucker for big brown eyes – Mom had them, too.

Whether or not you share your home and life with a dog (or two, or a few, or more) dogs have an im...

Welcome to the Dog Days of Summer. It’s the time of year when traffic is lighter, meetings are smaller, and life gets just a little bit slower for most people.

For much of my life, I thought the phrase came from the observation of how lazy and slow dogs became in the heat of summer. Maybe you thought that, too? Nope – the ancient Romans noticed that when Sirius and the sun were in close proximity, the weather became hotter and more humid. Sirius, aka the Dog Star, is the brightest star in Canis Major, or the Big Dog, constellation, hence the Dog Days of Summer.

How does your life shift in the summertime?

If you have school-aged children or grandchildren, chances are you spend a bit more time with them than you do in the rest of the year.

If you teach any kind of class, chances are your classes are smaller this time of year.

If you work in the hospitality industry or any medical field where there’s flexibility in the timing of treatments, your workload increases this time of year.