It’s the question every adoption counselor gets: “Why do you have so many pit bulls?” When I worked in a Philly animal shelter (2008-2009), 9-out-of-10 people would ask me this. All I knew was the soundbite-of-the-time: “They’re great dogs, they just get a bad rap.” That’s what I said then. But times have changed. The “rap” has […]

In middle school (1991-1994),  this is what I wore: It’s not that I rode skateboards. I just liked the way it looked and the image it portrayed. It’s what my peers were wearing. In high school (1994-1998), this is what I wore:         It’s not that I was a lady who lunched. […]

A lot has changed since I got my first dog 7 years ago, so I decided to make a list of what I remember. I never want to take for granted how much information has been shared with me over the years. But most of all, I never want to be the person who looks […]

“Stop. Stop! Please, stop. You’re hurting us. You’re hurting America.”  That’s what Jon Stewart said when he appeared on Crossfire in in 2006, begging the hosts to stop pinning extreme views against each other and calling it a “debate.” He begged them to end the knee-jerk, reactionary shouting matches between one sensational view and another. […]

A few weeks ago I wrote about my dog Fannie in “The Fannie Test.” She’s a mutt, so whenever she does something awesome, she gets full credit instead of chalking her awesomeness up to her breed. There is no breed to chalk things up to. It’s all Fannie. Well, last week Fannie did something less-than-awesome. […]