When science and faith meet – infinity

Last updated on: October 7, 2012 at 7:37 pm By Joanne Brokaw

I once had a conversation with a university biology student about the possibility that God created the universe. His premise was that science proved that God couldn’t have created the universe. Going back to the moment of creation, he contended, there was scientific proof of how everything happened. Amino acids and molecules and explosions of compounds and all manner of things a simpleton like me couldn’t understand. I kept asking “Where did that come from” every time he explained a step in... Read more

Vote for the most unusual pet insurance claim in the 2012 VPI Hambone Awards

Last updated on: September 6, 2012 at 10:34 am By Joanne Brokaw

Veterinary Pet Insurance Co. is getting ready to award the 2012 Annual Hambone Award, and you get to pick the winner! Named after a dog that ate an entire Thanksgiving ham while stuck in a refrigerator, the VPI Hambone Award has since been presented for three equally unusual claims. Past winners include Ellie, a Labrador retriever who gobbled up an entire beehive and its thousands of inhabitants; Lulu, a hungry bulldog who swallowed 15 baby pacifiers, a bottle cap and... Read more

5 reasons to obey the leash law (yes, I’m talking to you)

Last updated on: September 4, 2012 at 4:53 pm By Joanne Brokaw

I took my dog Bandit for a walk today in Corbett’s Glen, a nature park here in the suburbs of our hometown of Rochester, NY. In general, I avoid walking in the woods by myself. It’s kind of scary for me. I prefer the cemetery. For whatever reason, I feel less alone among the dead. But we’ve been exploring new places to romp and someone told me this was a great trail When I walk Bandit in the woods or... Read more

How I spent my summer vacation

Last updated on: August 27, 2012 at 5:02 pm By Joanne Brokaw

I sit here at my computer, trying to come up with a topic to blog about, something animal-related, something spiritual. It’s been a while since I wrote anything for Patheos, wrote anything at all for that matter. I confess: I took a break, a summer vacation from writing, if you will. A little time off from wordcrafting isn’t a bad thing. It’s like ice cream. You love it, but too much can make you so sick you never want to... Read more

The fight for Lennox ends – shame on the Belfast City Council

Last updated on: July 11, 2012 at 5:40 pm By Joanne Brokaw

Lennox, the 7-year-old American Bull Dog/Labrador mix who was seized by the Belfast City Council (BCC) in Northern Ireland in May 2012 has been, according to reports, “humanely put to sleep.” The story that has captured the hearts of animal lovers around the world centers on a law in Belfast that makes owning a pit bull illegal. The BCC seized Lennox because they deemed that he was, by appearance, a pit bull, despite DNA testing to the contrary. The Barnes... Read more

Fight for Lennox the dog nears the end

Last updated on: July 9, 2012 at 9:51 pm By Joanne Brokaw

Lennox is scheduled to die tomorrow. In fact, he may already be dead, since he’s in Northern Ireland and it’s already tomorrow there. Lennox has been imprisoned for almost two years. Not because he committed a crime. Not because he broke the law. He’s been held because of the way he looks. Lennox is a dog. And to the officials at the Belfast, Ireland City Council, Lennox looks like a pit bull, which in their eyes makes him a dangerous dog. Never mind that Lennox is... Read more

Help name the Seneca Park Zoo’s new lions

Last updated on: July 7, 2012 at 3:52 pm By Joanne Brokaw

My husband and I visited the Seneca Park Zoo in Rochester, NY a few weeks ago to see the new Step Into Africa exhibit. Everyone has been talking about it. I love the zoo. Over the last decade or so, the Seneca Park Zoo has really made some fabulous changes. I’m a huge fan of the otters, and I could spend hours watching them frolic and slide and swim. I especially love the Rocky Coast exhibit, with the wonderful polar bear habitat and the... Read more

Andy Griffith dies at 86 (video of The Andy Griffith Show episode, Dogs Dogs Dogs)

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 at 5:10 pm By Joanne Brokaw

It’s with a heavy heart that Mayberry fans learned today that actor Andy Griffith passed away this morning at age 86. With decades of success on television and stage, to many Griffith will always be remembered Sheriff Andy Taylor, everybody’s loving father, the man who could handle any problem with grace and calm — whether it’s a quirky deputy or a son’s questions about life. So what better way to remember Griffith today than with this episode of The Andy Griffith Show, “Dogs Dogs... Read more

The results of positive dog training (video)

Last updated on: June 25, 2012 at 3:22 pm By Joanne Brokaw

(Video of Bandit and Bailey; I’m not really that fat … it’s an apron filled with treats … honest …) Those of you who have been following along with the dog adventures at my house – Scout’s illness last year and his death in January along with the very serious behavior problems we’ve been dealing with between Bandit and Bailey, problems that for their own safety have prevented the two dogs from occupying the same rooms since last November – will rejoice... Read more

Join Patricia McConnell in a discussion about animals at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, Thursday, June 21

Last updated on: June 19, 2012 at 4:03 pm By Joanne Brokaw

If you’re in the Madison, Wisconsin area and are also an animal lover, here’s a don’t miss event: this Thursday, June 21, Patricia McConnell, author of fabulous books including “The Other End Of The Leash” and “For The Love Of A Dog” will join Richard H. Axsom, curator at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, for a discussion of the complicated and often contradictory relationships humans have had with animals. The discussion is part of the museum’s exhibit, One must... Read more