This is an appreciation of my fellow bloggers. Today I’m joining in the My Writing Process Tour. Lisa from Dogs N Pawz invited me to participate. I suffer from a bad case of Pawcrastination, and had  planned to write this sooner. I realize that I am at the tale end of it, since I haven’t found a single person to do the next post.  So if you haven’t done it, consider yourself invited by me, and I’ll include your blog description at the end.

 

 

There aren’t enough good things to be said about Lisa of Dogs N Pawz. While incredibly busy and dedicated, she’s never too preoccupied to field an e-mail or phone call to talk you through a blog glitch or to commiserate about the plight of homeless animals. She is kind enough and dedicated enough to host the wonderful weekly Blog Hop Tuesday’s Tales, where you can post companion animals who need homes. She also does volunteer work at her local shelter.

Her blog is professional-looking and always filled with interesting content. She covers everything from the antics of her own amazing dogs (Scout, Ash, Teddy  and grandson dog Diesel), to product offerings, her own publication, Diesel the Shelter Pup, and  articles about grooming, training, dog health, and more.  She is currently focusing on dog health and care. Did you know that Lisa has developed an amazing site called The Daily Coffee Bean, which we should all support!

 

 

I want to thank Lisa especially for making time for me a while ago when I didn’t understand what a Blog Hop was. She was so kind and helpful. I now know how to be part of a Blog Hop, but can’t quite figure out the Tuesday’s Tales Hop works, and she posts it for me every week. (I blog a Cairn a week for Col. Potter Cairn Rescue). Lisa is the best example of what I think blogging should be. She is dedicated to posting high-quality, accurate, useful and amusing material while being part of a warm, supportive community.

The next part of the My Writing Process Tour is answering The Questions.

What am I working on?

I recently faced the dilemma many of us have. My blog began as “A Therapy Dog’s Cancer Story, ” MatildasJourney.com. When Matilda passed, what would the blog become? Some might say that I was short-sighted. Au contraire! In blogging, there is always room for process. This might be what sets blogging apart. (In fact this Writing Process Tour is part of it).

At the Blog Paws conference, some people did some brain-storming with me and I  decided to keep the title.  Matilda stood for something profound that still is metabolizing in me. Shortly after her death I wrote that the blog would continue as a representative of her kind and saintly nature.  It would be a place for Therapy Dogs to be spoken of and for homeless animals to look for homes. Her Journey would become all of our journey, but it wouldn’t be about cancer or patience or therapy dogs, but about compassion through the human-animal bond. The search continues for Matilda’s Journey.

 

 

 

Why do I write what I do?

I remember many years ago when I first heard about the concept of a blog. There was a rumor that there was someone keeping a semi-public journal (blog) about his deteriorating mental health, and that only certain people had access to it. No one knew who he was, or how to reach him. He was tottering at the edge, and no one was sure he would would survive.  Actually, this might have been a book I read. Does this sound familiar to anyone? There were two small poodles in the plot. The idea of a public diary/journal fascinated me. It raised the question, again, why do people write personal journals. There are so many reasons. There are some psychological explanations that involve a kind of healing the enormity of which has only  has only recently been hinted at. By now blogs have grown in many different directions, but I always think of that book. I think I also do remember rumors of some secret journals online that some people had access to.

It seems that we all seek to be part of something larger. I think that is why I write what I write. It began with this ethereal dog who was undergoing something difficult, fading as I watched, and I believed that I felt her essence percolating within me. Trying to save this thread of life in her could not be quiet and hidden. Matilda needed to be seen.

Once she was gone from this realm, I felt a pull to continue. We all say that the special beings we lose live on in our hearts. I felt the sylph-like whisper of her. It seemed counter to life itself not to continue Matilda’s Journey.

 

 

How does my writing process work?

Questions like this always seem pretentious to answer. Actually I learned to write spontaneously in a career-related advanced seminar. Each week we had to write a short paragraph on the reading for each course, and we had to include a concept we liked, and how we used the concept in our work.  In one short paragraph. At first I was in dismay because I didn’t think it was possible. Over time, I learned how to do it, and it was a release.

When I began to write about Matilda, I decided that the process would be similar. I would pick a little vignette or observation, and write simply about it. Often the vignette would present itself.  When she died, the posts wrote themselves. The outpourings of kindness and support I received in response, were stunningly beautiful. I felt held by many people I had never met.

In the future, I might feel the need for a more focused blog. For now, the dogs who Matilda left behind are filling its pages, as is the newest little pup who delivered herself into my arms recently.  Rescued Cairns are asking for homes, Livvie is getting into mischief,  Mango Musicals are being described as we  continue to aspire to Matilda’s journey.