Beagle Man started making fun of me with his “duck” jokes back in April of 2015, when I was just an 8-month-old pup.  It was during my first cross-country road trip, and we’d stopped for a walk through the grounds of the Marin County Civic Center.  The park was kind of fancy, with DOGS MUST BE LEAS…

You all remember, Joe, right?  Beagle Man’s friend who’s not, um, all that crazy about dogs? (You can take a look at what Ricky the Beagle wrote about him in “The Odd Couple.”)  So what Joe’s been up to lately doesn’t really surprise me.  But his wife, Pam — who I thought was my friend?  Who loves…

Beagle Man and Kemba:  A grown man using a poor little dog as an excuse for his own outdoors/exercise fetish.  Why am I not surprised?  In my days with the B-Man, he used to drag me out all the time, too — whether I wanted to go or not.  Sure, I enjoyed chasing the odd squirrel on a sunny spring mo…

For whatever masochistic reason, I find myself from time to time thinking morbid thoughts about how I’ll feel when Kemba, you know . . . reaches his time.  That is, if I’m still around.  (At my age, not a slam-dunk.)  I further torture myself by going back to when our beloved Ricky the Beagle died…

Packing light?  Nah.  I scrapped that as a goal long ago. When I’m getting ready for a get-away, I want everything with me that I could conceivably need, or want.  Might have time to go for a run?  Running shoes.  Maybe a nice, long, scenic bike ride?  Dri-fit shorts and T-shirts.  Body-surfing?  …

I have a bone to pick with a piece I saw a while back in the sports section of The New York Times — which I do read, by the way, even if it’s “failing.”  It was called “Two New Breeds With Really Long Names” (Jan. 24, by The Associated Press) and it started this way:  “Two new breeds.  Sixteen new…

Austria avalanche kills 3; Ski patrollers killed in France  (Washington Post, January 13, 2019) At 24, NFL player retires after his 6th concussion: ‘My well-being is more important’  (Today, August 2, 2018) Teen Surf Star Loses Arm in Shark Attack  (ABC News, November 3, 2003) Yes, skiing the Alps…

I’m gonna be perfectly honest with you:  I usually don’t give small dogs the time of day.  I’m not a huge fan of their yappy tough-guy act, and it’s easier to just ignore them.  Which is exactly what I’m thinking when Robby’s friends Rob and Charlotte show up at the Vermont house a week ago with S…

“Unfortunately, it looks like your drooling, howling, underwear-sniffing, sock-eating angel of perfection is not, you know, especially smart.” — AJ Willingham, CNN Really?  This is the author’s take-away from a study published in the so-called “scholarly” journal Learning & Behavior?  I’d like…