From the time I was a little girl, I was enamored, if not obsessed, with furry animals, especially dogs. At that time women who could afford them wore fur jackets and coats. Whenever I saw such a lady in a fur coat (common back then) I’d run up and pet it. We did have two dogs growing up: first a fox terrier, Winnie, then a poodle, Louie. But they just weren’t my kind of dogs.
As soon as I graduated from college and found myself on the outskirts of El
Paso, Texas as a VISTA volunteer working with the chicano (Latino) community, I
was gifted a puppy. I named her Hobbit and she was my hiking and special buddy for the next 10 years. The word mutt sounds pretty nondescript. I prefer the Spanish, kiltro. Means the same thing but sounds classier. Hobbit was a real dog’s dog. Not finicky. Just an all-round fun, healthy, happy, loyal dog.
It was when I 33 that Bob and I discovered the breed that stole our hearts: golden retrievers! They’re gorgeous, lovable, affectionate, avid swimmers, terrific hikers, wonderful for families, therapy, you name it. Yep, they shed like crazy, but you won’t find me getting a golden doodle. They’re just not the same. That gorgeous, silky fur that is made for nuzzling, contrasting with the black button nose and deep, soulful eyes. Add the ever playful, nature-loving, curious, loyal, water- loving spirit…what’s not to love? And so we are now sharing our lives with our 5 th
and 6 th golden furballs: Dulce de Leche (the instinct-driven Nature Girl) and Amoroso, or Oso (the highly sensitive cuddle-bug boy). They are 11 and 10, and love life to the max. I can’t imagine life without a golden!
Some years ago I happened upon the utterly delightful little book, Unleashing Your Inner Dog. It exudes the deep love, understanding, appreciation, and utter delight of a human rejoicing in the pure, exuberant wonder of dog nature. I have never found anyone like the author, Mari Gayatri Stein, who so gets what dogs are all about: their true nature. From the back cover: “Artist and writer Mari Gayatri Stein has been sharing her life with dogs for thirty years.
One day she realized that they exhibited many of the qualities she’d been striving to adopt: acceptance, devotion, unconditional love, authenticity.” I devoured this little treasure of a book from cover to cover then forgot about it.
There it sat on the pet section of the bookshelves until I rediscovered it a couple of months ago and found that I loved it even more than before. I felt a lovely sisterhood/heart connection with the author. Same age, both married, from the Pacific NW, living on an organic farm (we do in Chile). How wonderful it would be to meet her. And so I Googled her today only to discover that she had died of cancer a little over a year ago, at 70 (my age now). Turns out she was the whimsical author/illustrator of 11 books and illustrated many other books as well.
Her husband commented, “If you knew her, you know what we have lost. If you didn’t know her, you do not know what you missed.” I wish I had contacted her when I first her book (published in 2001). But, alas, I did not. I thank you now, Gayatri, for bringing more joy, whimsy, fun, and playfulness into this world! May your heart soar wherever you may be. (Unleashing Your Inner Dog, Mari Gayatri Stein, New World Library. ISBN: 1-
57731-165-5)
Recent Comments