November/December 2019

All Creatures

The Animals Who Share Our Lives

All Creatures2 min read
Editor’s Note
LATELY I’VE BEEN THINKING about an arctic fox’s epic journey from Norway to Canada across 2,175 miles of mostly open sea ice in just 76 days. Researchers in Norway were tracking the young female to better understand her local migration patterns. Boy,
All Creatures2 min read
On The Job These Working Animals Wow Us
You’ve heard of animal therapy with dogs, cats, horses, birds…but cows? On farms in the U.S., the Netherlands and other countries, cow cuddling (koe knuffelen in Dutch) is helping people feel better. Not every cow is suited to the job, but many have
All Creatures1 min read
I’ll Never Forget You
ON A JUNE afternoon in 2005 I felt the urge to visit the local animal shelter. That’s where I saw him, a white kitten with just one eye. When he looked at me, I could see his soul. I felt his love and had no doubt that Wink was coming home with me. A
All Creatures2 min read
Going Beyond
THE HOLIDAYS ARE a busy time of year: shopping, cooking, traveling. But the spirit of the season is really about being together and giving to those in need. What better way to show that spirit than to welcome a shelter dog into your home? For the sec
All Creatures2 min read
Should I Be Worried?
Q My cat licks the sap and nibbles on the needles of my Christmas tree. I also love lighting scented candles during the holiday season but worry about her inhaling the scent. Is she in danger? —Katie T., Denver, Colorado A Christmas trees are usua
All Creatures6 min read
Bringing Smoke Home
Istanbul, May 4, 2011. I paced an alley in the middle of the city, fuming. I was a retired Marine Corps Reserve colonel. I had come almost 6,000 miles, from Omaha, on a mission that now looked hopeless. This isn’t going to work, I thought. He’s not c
All Creatures2 min read
A Moment Of Awe
THE SMALL WAITING ROOM at the veterinarian’s office was crowded with animals and their humans, including me and my two big dogs, Roscoe and Chaucer. They were going to get their nails clipped. The woman next to me held a schnauzer on her lap. “Routin
All Creatures4 min read
The Dog Book Guy
Chances are, if the face of an adorable dog on a book cover or a movie poster has made you smile, W. Bruce Cameron is the man to thank. His best-selling books and three hit movies—including the latest, A Dog’s Journey—portray the dog–human bond with
All Creatures3 min read
How I Met My Pet
I WAS WORRIED about my black-and-white paint horse, Storm. Two weeks earlier her pasture mate, Lightning, had to be put down after breaking his leg. Since then, Storm hadn’t been herself. She wasn’t eating well and didn’t want to run or socialize lik
All Creatures5 min read
A Miracle Named Rippin
Thud…thud…thud. Then one un earthly yowl after another. My eyes snapped open. It was the middle of night, but I was wide awake now. So was my husband, Lou. Wordlessly, we leapt out of bed to investigate. At the foot of the stairs was a dark, familiar
All Creatures2 min read
Their Mysterious Ways
I already had four dogs. But I couldn’t resist the adorable furry face in my Facebook feed—a chocolate teacup poodle who’d been liberated from a puppy mill down South. I contacted the Maine-based rescue agency that had posted her photo and said I was
All Creatures2 min read
KATHY HECHT Salute of Service, Maine
Kathy Hecht of Searsport, Maine, is the president of Salute of Ser vice, a nonprofit organization that helps veterans train their own service dogs. “Veterans need service dogs for PTSD, seizure disorder, hearing loss, mobility or other disabilities,”
All Creatures3 min read
Next To My Heart
My dear friend Cathy loved animals, and I loved Cathy. So when I gave the eulogy at her funeral on that gray December day, that’s pretty much what I said. Cathy loved just about every living thing that I kept on my small Mississippi farm, even my som
All Creatures1 min read
Creature Comforts
I DIDN’T KNOW JOHNNY, my neighbor’s eight-year-old nephew, well, but I knew that his mother was very sick. When she died I wished there were something I could do. One day I decided to invite Johnny over to play with my daughters on our trampoline. Bu
All Creatures3 min read
Is This for Real?
Most people would not be thrilled to spot a cockroach in their home—or anywhere, really. But 12-year-old Shelby Counterman has thousands of them in her bedroom. And that’s just the way she likes it. When Shelby was only 18 months old, her mom, Meg, t
All Creatures3 min read
Dogs Helping People
I took a walk in the autumn air with my golden retriever Ernest and a military veteran friend. Ernest is a certified therapy dog and was there to provide affection to this veteran, who was missing his late dog. People stopped us: “Can I pet him?” “Wh

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