Long time Tripawds followers and viewers of Nature’s Why We Love Cats and Dogs are well aware of a certain Mutts cartoon that summarized my outlook on life. What they may not know is that this strip was inspired by the teachings of Eckhart Tolle. Well, him and the creator’s Jack Russell Terrier, Earl.
My pack was lucky enough to meet Mutts creator Patrick McDonnell at the Tattered Cover book store in Denver, CO recently. He was doing his first signing for the new book Guardians of Being, featuring Mutts artwork, the words of Eckhart Tolle, and that strip we love so much.
Patrick read passages from Guardians of Being and his new children’s book Wag! He also drew some favorite Mutts characters for the crowd and took some time to chat with Jim about the Mutts strip and the Nature program in which Jim mentioned it. René caught it all on video …
As you can see, that lucky dog Wyatt got some good belly rubs from Patrick. Jim and René got their books signed, and owe Patrick a special thanks for the signed drawing of Guard Dog running free. We’ll be publishing a detailed review for Guardians of Being soon in the Tripawds Amazon Selections blog, so stay tuned for that. We just need Jim to put the book down long enough to write a review. But he just keeps reading it from cover to cover, again and again, with a big serene grin on his face!
Here’s another touching story we learned about, after we were featured in the PBS show, Why We Love Cats and Dogs.
Greg Hess, a viewer from Colorado, wrote to us and shared his story about a deep commitment he made to his senior dog Stormy, whose health was in rapid decline at the same time that Greg lost his job. Greg and Stormy’s story is so beautiful, we had to share it with you. He writes:
“Rene and Jim,
I am truly sorry for your loss. What great Being Jerry was for everyone he came in contact with. I feel that your story has a very significant message too. That is, your commitment to Jerry in his time of need. Your willingness to do what it took to give him a life that many animals will never know.
I concluded in much the same way, that my own dog needed that kind of commitment. About a year and half ago, I lost my job. While thinking about the next move, I wondered how the next job would impact my our 14 ½ year old Beagle, Stormy. It dawned on me that since both my spouse and me would be gone all day, his life would mostly be just laying around being board. And in Colorado, it’s dark and cold for many months so trying to get out for a walk at night wasn’t very promising.
It wasn’t easy to commit to that. Even with the support of my spouse, losing income and one’s place in the work world presents some difficult hurdles to overcome. But the life we were able to provide Stormy for those 18 months was incredible. He went ‘everywhere’ with me. People new him from one end of the city to the other. He ate with us, walked with us, slept with us, there seemed to be no reason to exclude him from anything in our lives.
We had to have Stormy euthanized in January 2009. Like you, as his health declined, it became clear from our vet visits, that there were too many unknowns about his condition, which was probably a brain tumor or, the beginning of kidney failure. So we decided to just do everything possible to make his life good until it was time. I simply couldn’t put him through massive testing, prodding and poking to gain a couple of days or weeks.
So a grateful thanks for sharing your story. It’s really felt like I’ve been out on the fringe of society by taking off so much time to be with Stormy. His passing (as I’m sure Jerry’s did) has left such a large hole in our lives. I guess the more time one spends, the more threads we interweave between our pet’s lives and us. Perhaps it’s an unfortunate byproduct of losing Stormy, but it’s created a profound sadness in me for all the other Beings on our planet that will not come close to experiencing what dogs like Jerry and Stormy had.”
Here is a beautiful essay Greg wrote about Stormy:
Viewers of Nature’s Why We Love Cats and Dogs should remember the scene where Jim and René mention a comic strip taped to the back of their medicine cabinet door. It shows Ozzie wondering what time it is, and Earl the dog answering with a resounding Now! Now! Now! Now! Now!
Being huge Mutts fans, they were excited to hear about the new Mutts Treasury from Patrick McDonnell featuring all our favorite furry friends from the funnies. Hoping it might include this strip, they requested a review copy from Andrews McMeel publishing who kindly obliged. And guess what? Check out page 40!
If you’re new here and asking, “So what?” … this was a big deal for us here at tripawds.com because this episode of Nature features me and my pack on the road sharing that incredible bond which only true animal lovers can understand.
Check it out and tell a friend! There’s also only one week left to submit your pet photos for Nature’s Why I Love Cats and Dogs Photo Contest so act now.
We must give a special shout-out to producer Ellen Goosenberg Kent and her crew. Since they first followed us around Santa Fe last March, we’ve wondered what would come of the hours of footage they shot.
Well, Ellen did a simply amazing job telling Jerry’s story! We have now seen it about a dozen times and still cry every time.
We are just astounded to think that our story has touched so many people, in such profound ways. If the response here and on the Nature website is any indication, Ellen is sure to be nominated for another Emmy!
And if traffic is any indication of our future success with this website, Jerry’s legacy is bound to live on here forever.
We typically averaged about 900 unique visits a day. Yesterday alone we had more than 6,000 visitors!
Thank you Ellen. Thank you Nature. Thank you PBS.
And special thanks to all the viewers out there who dropped by to discover Jerry’s full story and share their own puppy-love stories with us. Thanks to all of you, we continue to spread the word that it’s better to hop on three legs than to limp on four.
Just a quick reminder: Jerry’s big debut will be on PBS tonight, 2/15 in the NATURE series episode called “Why We Love Cats and Dogs.”
Be sure to tune in at 8:00 p.m. (check your local listings to be sure). You’ll also hear from many other pet owners and various animal behavior experts like the awesome Sarah Wilson.
So just the other day, KVEC’s Dave Congalton had us on his program for a phone interview about the upcoming Nature – Why We Love Cats and Dogs to air February 15, on PBS (check local listings for time and channel).
Dave had some great questions and we wanted to thank him for sharing our story. But rather than us telling you about it, you can download the KVEC podcast here and listen for yourself!
For Jerry’s whole story, be sure to tune in at 8:00 p.m. Sunday, February 15! You’ll also hear from many other pet owners and various animal behavior experts. Check your local listings for exact time and station.
Scene from Nature's Why We Love Cats and Dogs, featuring Jerry!
Visit the PBS website for complete details about how to enter your cat and dog photos. Send in your best photo of your favorite four-paws – or three! – to NATURE’s Why I Love Cats and Dogs Photo Contest, then tune-in with your pets for Why We Love Cats and Dogs, Sunday February 15 at 8pm (check local listings).
The five winning photos will receive a DVD of Why We Love Cats and Dogs. The five winning photos and ten runners-up will be featured in a Contest Winners gallery on the PBS NATURE Web site.
Read the contest rules and find out more now. Contest entry is limited to three photos per person, and only photos of cats or dogs will be accepted. We would sure love to see at least one three legged winner! So, enter today and be sure to tune in to your local PBS station on February 15th!
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