b"editor unleashedAnna Cooke, Editor in ChiefEarlyoninourrelationshipasacouple, We named her Clouseau, because liketraveling at the spur of the moment was how thebunglingbelovedpolicedetective,herSteve and I enjoyed our lives. Pack a bag, lack of judgment often led to her sticking herjump in the car or catch a plane to go some- nose into places it should never have gone inwhereforacoupleofdaysoraweek. the first place. She lived with us for 10 years,Nothing, especially no one, to hold us back. andwecontinuedtreatinghermangeWe often never made reservations for accom- on the occasions it returned. Steve called hermodations until after wed reached our desti- Little One.nation. And back then, there was no such Backthen,wewerentfamiliarwiththingasGoogle.Risk-takingadventurers, mange, and we definitely had never heard ofS A L TUDIOS LLEN AURA BY PHOTOGRAPH whether it was to Key West or Lake Tahoe.puppy mills, which have been around sinceThen, one day in the mid 80s, the most justafterWorldWarII.Today,afterremarkablethinghappened,justafterthe publishingTheNewBarker foralmost18new year. Needing a break from the post-hol- years, I can certainly tell you a thing or twoiday blues, which had crept in like one of our about puppy mills, and why I will continuesudden Florida winter storms, we decided to tosupportthepassingoflocalordinancesChloe, Dougie, Rita, and Ms. Zoe run some Saturday errands at a nearby plaza. and state laws to phase out the retail sale ofin my heart forever. Anna Cooke Brunchafterwardswasourmotivator,so puppies in stores. expediency and efficiency were key. We split Every dog who comes into our lives takesup,agreeingtomeetbackatadesignated up a spot in our hearts that lasts forever, longspot within a short period of time.after their beautiful physical beings are gone. I finished my errands first, and sat down Writer Ernest Montague wrote that a dog isYou were young enough to dream to people-watch while waiting for Steve. He justasleepinourhearts,therefore,adogAnd I was old enough To learn something new. arrived a few moments later with a look of never really dies. And, that sudden occurrenceI'm so glad I got to dance with you consternation. You have got to follow me and of the memory of a dog whos been gone aFor a moment of forever. let me show you what Ive found, he said.long time? Well, thats the dogs wagging tailCome whatever happens now, As we entered the pet store, I noticed the pounding,wap,wap,waponyourheart,Ain't it nice to knowmostly empty cages lining the walls to the stopping by to say hello.That dreams still come true? right and left of us. Sure signs of successful Im never sad when this happens. OnI'm so glad that I was close to you holiday sales for the proprietor. A Siberian the contrary, it will remind me of a funnyFor a moment of forever. Husky crouched uncomfortably in one of the momentoranendearingtraitofthat cages that was much too small for her grow- particulardogwhospayingmeavisit.Willie Nelson ing body. She looked right at us with the Sometimes, the memory is so strong, I canbluest eyes I had ever seen. She was beautiful, conjure up the familiar aroma of the dogs fur.even with the splotches of missing fur on her That is the power of a dogs love, and asfacefrom mange, the store owner said. youre reading this, I know you know whatHe had already told Steve the dog would Im talking about.be shipped back to the Midwest breeder where Lookingbackovertheyears,andtheshed been born to let them deal with her. He relationships we have shared with our dogs, Irepeated his message to me in an ominous realize how each one of them has shaped thetone that I can still hear, 44 years later.evolution of The New Barker dog magazine.Nobody bought her over the holidays, And each dog, since our first publication inand Im not spending any more money to 2006,continuestoinspireme. Theyhavecontinuecaringforher,hesaid.Shes taught us so many lessons, some of which wegrown out of her puppy cuteness. And, no fail to recognize right away. But, it does feelone will buy her now.that with each new dog experience, the timeQuite the sales tactic. I wondered if he we have with them, somehow continues tohad used it on all his post-holiday customers. improve us as humans.Nevertheless, it worked on us, and all plans, ThankyouClouseau,Elmo,Zoe,including brunch, were diverted. Life, as we Chloe,Rita,Dougie,Midnight,Angel,knew it, had just changed forever. Greta, Nellie, Henry, and Teddy. U6THE NEW BARKER www.TheNewBarker.com"