On Thursday, July 7, my good friend Nena (some would say my “girlfriend”) woke up having trouble breathing, so Luz and her niece rushed her to the vet.  There was a mass in her lung, it turns out, and her heart was enlarged.  Before they could even get her to a specialist, she collapsed and died.  Suddenly.  Exactly the way I went.  And I can tell you, there’s something to be said for that.  No suffering.  Nena the Chihuahua and Kemba never developed much...

Got back from a quicky late-night bite at the Grey Goose.  I’d been gone for maybe 45 minutes.  Kemba greeted me, of course, at the playroom door, all in a lather.  God forbid I’d get back from even the shortest trip without dropping everything to play with him. “Come on, Handsome, let’s go out in the run,” I said.  “We’ll see what good stuff we find out there.”  I was referring to the wide-ranging array of balls with which his run is...

The outlook wasn’t sunny over Winslow Park that day; Kemba and friend But the parking lot was all but full, and Kemba still had to play. And then when Patricia kicked the ball and Kemba went to get it, Bullet snatched it clean from out his jaws; you’ve got to give him credit. So my dog turned to Jamie, appealing for some help, She was busy with her Lincoln, though, chasing Sadie, with a yelp. Dede tried her best to calm things down; she’s, after all, the Mayor, Sadie But the hounds...

Kemba tells me he misses this view . . . Was talking last Friday to one of my Hartford writing students — a hardcore dog lover who also happens to be a big-time fan of this blog.  She knows pretty much all there is to know about the LA/XC series, my annual cross-country road trips from Westport to Los Angeles to bring Ricky (originally) and Kemba (more recently) out to visit our son Robby at school at USC.  One trip for each of his four years there. I started to tell her about early...

Kemba and Ruckus spent the long Memorial Day weekend together at the beach in Synchronized front-door-watching Montauk.  The Tuesday after, our daughter-in-law Kelly told us, Ruckus refused to go to Biscuits & Bath, the doggy daycare center which was, heretofore, his favorite place on the planet.  For the rest of the week, Greg added, he had to carry Ruckus to “school.” That same Tuesday, back in CT, when I grabbed Kemba’s leash from the hook in the mudroom and...

Should Beagle Man be asking Steve the Breeder for his money back?  I know, I know, this sounds pretty petty, especially coming from me, the dog Kemba replaced.  But seriously — isn’t he Who cares that he almost tripped over those ducks? He’s got his precious stick . . supposed to be a Duck Tolling Retriever?  Yeah, sure, the retrieving part, he’s awesome at that:  If B-Man throws a tennis ball in the water, Kemba’s all over it; it’s as if his life...

Home free Last Sunday morning, 8AM, Robby stumbled into our bedroom.  “Here’s Kemba,” he announced, then quickly ducked back into his own room before I could react.  It would have been nice if he’d let Kemba out to pee and given him his breakfast, instead of waking me, but that, I know he thinks, is above his pay grade. So as I groggily took care of my dog’s morning routine, I pieced together what had gone down:  Robby had gotten in late Saturday...

Happy Birthday to the sweet boy who put the beagle in Beagle Man! We miss you, Ricky.

Uncle and Nephew I spent last weekend with two pretty athletic dogs. You’ve heard me bragging about Kemba (named, of course, for UConn/Charlotte Hornets hoops star Kemba Walker) ad nauseum since he was just a tiny furball, so enough about him.  Except to say that yesterday at the dog park I flung a tennis ball maybe 120 feet and Kemba caught it in his mouth — on a fly!  A passerby with a black Lab did a double-take and said, “Wow — I didn’t know Goldens could do...

Are you kidding me?  Another Kemba in the dog park??  Whaaat???  Of course I knew there was a person named Kemba.  Kemba Walker, the basketball player from UConn.  You know, The original Kemba Walker — my namesake my namesake?  I get that.  But another dog named Kemba?  Who hangs out in Winslow Park, where I hang out?  That’s just too weird, I’m sorry.  But it’s true.  I heard the lady say her dog’s name is Kemba, and that he was also named for Kemba...