Dog Mom Magazine

08/15/2025

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08/02/2025

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08/01/2025

This week Sullivan crossed 🌈
Today, we honor his legacy and the family that helped him live his best life. ..
Sullivan came into Kim's life in 2012.
Kim says, "I had the perfect life in 2012[...]like when I think back, I'd never had anything bad happen to me.
Everything was perfect when I got him, then we both went through this whirlwind together."
The whirlwind she's referencing was the stroke her father suffered in 2014, six days after he officially retired. Followed by his stay in the ICU. Followed by 106 days in rehab and his return home. Kim (newly married) and Sullivan moved in with her parents to help care for her father.
Sullivan became like a therapy dog for Kim's father, who was partially paralyzed and lost the ability to speak except for the words, "Yes." "No." and "Sullivan".
Though it came out as "Elvan" as he'd wave with his one functioning arm for Sullivan to come to him. Sullivan would gently join him on the bed - a remarkable feat for a dog known to be rough and tumble by nature. It was like he knew.
When Kim saw the two of them together, she saw peace. In turn, she received peace.
This was not where the whirlwind concluded. It continued as Kim's mother was diagnosed with cancer. Soon after, on Thanksgiving Day, Kim's dog Chance fell ill and was also diagnosed with cancer. Finally, her father was diagnosed with terminal cancer in addition to his stroke. Chance passed away in December of 2015. Kim lost her mother in January of 2016, and her father six months to the day that her mother passed.
"Things like this happen to so many people[...]but you never think it's going to be your life."
Sullivan helped her navigate her grief by giving her something to focus on beyond her immediate sorrow. Her mother inspired her by reminding her, "He deserves to be happy."
"He was always there. He always gave me a reason to keep going[...]He deserves to have a happy life[...]He would give me that back[...]He brought that strength out of me. I always think back to what if I didn't see that picture on Petfinder [...]My life could've been so much different. I could just have sat in bed for weeks[...] I had to get up...]I was just like 'T've got to get up and feed Sullivan...]He's done so much to help people get through things."
Sullivan was the witness. He saw every moment of her pain and loss. When we lose so much, we hold high the beings that were there. The ones that saw it all. That know what we know and experienced our pain with us. Grief is lonely and the witnesses help us feel less isolated. They bind us to that which is gone. So, in that way, what is lost remains present with us through the witness. Kim says, "He's always there. He's the only other being that saw everything I saw. He's the only other one that knows exactly what it was like]...]I do think it changed him. It made us much closer." During her time of grief she found peace in her walks with Sullivan. "Being with him always is the best. It could be the worst thing and it's just always the best[...]If I didn't have him[...]I know I would not be as positive right now. He brought it out of me... You're just so hopeful when you're with him[..]He's always going to bring something good to you."

07/28/2025

https://www.visitphilly.com/articles/philadelphia/pet-friendly-itinerary/

This itinerary has tails wagging ...

07/12/2025

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..
There’s no one like a senior dog to remind us to lay down the burdensome weights we shoulder if only for a few moments of bliss. Maddy embodies this sentiment perfectly when she shares, “Ozzie always reminds me to be present; to take a minute, forget about what's troubling me, and just be silly with my best furry friend.”

Those reminders to let go and lean in were a constant theme of Ozzie and Maddy's time together as their bond grew.
“I used to live 12+ hours away from my family while also working a different shift than my spouse. It was a really lonely time, until we got Ozzie. From then on, he was always by my side. His presence gave me a sense of routine, even when I wanted to stay in bed all day. And even through relocating, changing jobs, and getting married, he's been there ready to play and listen to the weird songs I make about him!"

07/11/2025

Brittany was working at a New Jersey animal hospital as a vet tech when animal control brought in a pit bull covered in blood and puncture wounds that was found abandoned in a home. A victim of dog fighting, he cowered in the crate as he waited to discover his fate. The county had only allotted $300 to medically respond to each animal control case. Any cases that required more than that to treat would result in euthanasia.

Brittany was on the response team, helping hold and calm him while vets assessed him. They’d warned her that he was aggressive. As she held him, the verdict came in. Medical attention was way out of the county budget. Extensive surgery was required. Drains would need to be placed to address his gashes and punctures. Plus, he couldn’t be trusted with humans. He needed to be put down.

Just then, in his moment of tremendous vulnerability and pain, with no reason to trust or love, he began to give her kisses and wag his tail. She knew this could not be his end. Brittany and Ryan decided to restore his dignity. They chose love and possibility, and new beginnings. They decided to foster him. They gave him hope. They gave him a name. Pacino came home from his surgery with ten drains in his body. He rode out the healing from his past life. He only needed someone to believe in him. Brittany and Ryan did just that.

Shortly after bringing him home, his lifetime of fear persisted. He cowered. He hid. Yet, slowly, he would come into his own. Brittany remembers the first sign of Pacino’s self-emergence and hope shining. She showed him a ball, and for the first time, he lit up. A classic pittie smile beamed. She thought how special it is for him to have a crack at a real puppy life. Brittany realized, “Wow. I can really give this dog the life…I can really make a difference.”

Folks, this is actually what happily ever after looks like - one soul showing up for another, a chance to hope and trust, an opportunity for deep, unwavering love. This is the kind of love you feel in your bones. It binds to your DNA. It comes to define you, embody you, and change you. That’s everything good this world is made of; not the absence of turmoil, but the persistence of love and hope.

07/10/2025

Lisa was elated when she heard I was writing a book celebrating senior dogs and how they teach us to live our best lives. She gushed over her precious Honey Bee who’d been surrendered for euthanasia in a previous life. She was rescued once by the Brandywine Valley SPCA and a second time when John and Lisa welcomed her to her forever home.

In her forever home, Honey Bee thrived; all smiles herself and creating smiles on her human’s faces daily. Lisa loved her authenticity, which inspired Lisa to be herself and go with the flow. Beyond the effervescent joy that followed Lisa and Honey Bee wherever they went, there was one thing that was most important to Lisa. She deeply wanted to celebrate the bond she witnessed between John and Honey Bee. To her, that was her everything in one perfect package; her John and her Honey Bee, best friends and kindred souls.

Lisa could see how Honey Bee had a way of creating balance in the universe around her, even when everything seemed to be going wrong, when nothing made sense, and life was just hard. Through her simple presence, she can completely change John’s entire demeanor, his effect, and his perspective. As if her tiny frame holds all that is good in this one precious life, and that light and love permeate through every pore and touch every surface. This was the pure magic that Lisa loved most, seeing her two favorite creatures share a connection and bond larger than life. Together, the love of their family of three is a mark on each of their hearts as indelible, meaningful, and beautiful as the many tattoos on John and Lisa’s skin.

That sense seems so elusive when you get the call. The call that says a soul that was so large and gorgeous is suddenly no longer here. It was only a few weeks after Lisa, John, and Honey Bee’s session when I received that call —the one that said Lisa was gone, suddenly. The disbelief is infinite, the reality an unsolvable equation. I can still hear her guttural laugh if I focus hard. She’d become a friend. Her laughter had become a regular soundtrack in my life. No one was ready to say goodbye to Lisa. Everyone needed more of her in their lives.

For John and Honey Bee, I could only think of my friend Elliot’s words when his partner Leo passed suddenly. He said, “There is a whole vocabulary I can no longer speak.”.
An entire lexicon is lost when someone we love is gone. That lexicon is the special language we share with those we love most. This may be one reason to be grateful that dogs need no vocabulary to change and shape our lives. That’s a superpower they’ve always held. The ability to move emotional mountains with a knowing look, a reassuring lean, a calm sit, a constant presence.

I asked myself what Lisa would want you to know when I sat down to write this story. She wants you to know that Honey Bee is taking care of John like she’s always done. She wants you to know that you can let yourself love big and live big. Don’t be afraid to take up space no matter how small or big you are. She wants you to know you really are the person your dog thinks you are. You’ll reach the end of your life blessed if you live your life like your dog does. She wants you to live like Honey Bee, unfazed by your past, embracing your authentic self, and ready to roll with it. Be unapologetic as you show up for what you love and what you believe in because this, my friends, is it. This is what we have, all we are promised. So be here, now. Live with the courage, resilience, presence, gratitude, and contentment of a senior dog.

07/08/2025

Lager didn’t come into Jenn’s life, officially, as a therapy dog. When a friend showed up at her work with a “surprise,” and that surprise was a puppy that was unwanted by the friend of that friend, she was unprepared, but open. She opened her heart and let Lager in. For the next 15 years, he proceeded to repay the gesture.

He supported her through depression, anxiety, and thoughts of su***de. They supported each other through the death of her father (whom they both claimed as a best friend).
“It’s something we went through together. We both loved him so much.” In hospice, Jenn placed her father’s hand on Lager’s head. Lager lay by his side and wouldn’t eat for days after he passed. Together, they fondly remember the days of Lager and Poppop sitting side by side on the sofa, sharing a bowl of popcorn. Their memories and love they share in direct proportion to their loss.

Depression can be a chasm so deep that you can’t even see a light to move toward. The belief is that the light no longer exists. In that space, the creation of a shift in thought or action can be like a boulder moving to reveal a light. It can mean the difference between life and death. Many times, Lager was the shift. With a simple look, just enough light to be seen to know the direction home. The look in his eyes in those moments of deepest vulnerability carries her out of the chasm just long enough…

“Just long enough to make me throw all those pills down the toilet, or just enough to make me call my dad and say ‘I need you to come here right now.’ All it takes is 15 seconds for him to look at me like that with those eyes. Just know that if I make this decision, it’s the wrong decision, and I just have to keep pushing.”

When asked what his eyes are saying in those moments, Jen says,
“I think they’re saying everything’s okay. Everything is going to be okay. And I’m here and I love you. And all those things that happened to you don’t matter.
Like that’s how it feels. When you go through an abusive relationship, and a lot of other things. You come home every day or you lie in bed every night, and you think you’re worthless or that it’s not going to get better. And he makes me want to stay here to live the next day to see that it’s going to get better.”

“If he wasn’t in my life, I could almost guarantee you I wouldn’t be here right now…it wasn’t almost like me putting myself in his shoes…and thinking, ‘what would he think of me?’ he wouldn’t understand where I went…all he would know is that he loved me so so much and I just wasn’t there anymore. I didn’t want him to miss me.”

Instead, Jenn lives the life Lager wants her to live. They enjoy daily trips to the apartment courtyard to sit in the grass together. She loves how he looks back at her, checking that she’s still around. His mouth opens wide, and his tongue dangles to one side. In his older age, she bought him a red wagon so he could get around easily. Together, they give each other the best life they know how.

“When he passes away, I still have to keep going because he wouldn’t want me to stop. He would want me to get another dog and give that dog a better home, or get ten dogs or whatever.”

She began working at Almost Home Rescue, too.
“I feel like I make him proud by helping as many of them as I can. I want to make him proud. I want him to always look at me from doggie heaven with those eyes.”

07/07/2025

“From a terrible breakup, the physical grief was nearly unbearable. Finn rescued and assured me. His unconditional love and presence got me through. It always does.”

In that season of pain and loss, Heather describes how she didn’t want to talk to anyone in her grief and loss. She felt seen by Finn as he would seek her out in those times, lick her face. He helped her reconnect with the world around her.

Her favorite time with Finn is in the morning when he nuzzles and nudges her. “I know he’s telling me he loves me.”

Right now, Heather is in a season of joy and celebration, and Finn’s right there with her. They soak up all the goodness life has to offer and adventure forward. Heather chose for her session to focus in part on a fantastic 40th birthday. Complete with poofy pink skirt, She and Finn danced, zoomied, played, and celebrated life.

06/30/2025

Dog Mom Stories: Jennifer & Her Pack
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Jennifer spends most of her days on her vineyard and event space, Endless Mountain Vineyards. As they like to say, they’re “living the grape life”. However, the road to the “grape life” is a long and sometimes bumpy one.

From the loss of her soul dog, Buster, to a bilateral mastectomy to the courageous decision to become a business owner and founder of a nonprofit organization; Liv, North and Kenny have been there to inspire and cheer Jennifer on all the way.

Of her time following her mastectomy, she reflects, “They knew the true meaning of survivor and gave me the confidence to keep pushing forward. They allowed me the time I needed to heal and were ready to help me get back on track to being healthy and active.”

During this terrifying time of uncertainty in her health she received the opportunity to purchase 16 acres of land - a vineyard. In the face of her mortality and the crushing uncertainty of life, Jennifer said yes. She said yes to 16 acres and a vineyard. Despite knowing little about vinology and farming, she said yes. Thus, was the start of Endless Mountains Vineyards. The universe showed up in a myriad of ways. She said yes to the event space Endless Mountains could become, as a beacon of health, wellness, and joy that she dreamed of. She said yes to establishing the nonprofit B & Let Liv Project, dedicated to unifying human and animal welfare.

All along the way Liv, North, and Kenny came along to lend her support and courage to believe and act from a place of possibility, hope, and love. Of the love she’s experienced with her canine companions, Jennifer says, “They all teach you in a unique way about unconditional love. Some people need that connection with an animal to know it exists.”

You can visit Endless Mountains Vineyards, follow along Jennifer’s adventures and support the B & Let Live Project at www.endlessmountainsvineyards.com and on Instagram