Category: Pets

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Walking the dog

Dear Elyse,

You remind me very much of my sister who is a vet, and she rescues and trains animals all the time. She is very kind.

My dog pulls all her toys (there are many) out of her basket and works hard to evenly distribute them throughout the house. I want to train her to put her toys away when playtime is over, but she just doesn’t get it. Why should she put her toys away when she spends so much of her day making sure they are evenly distributed? Sometimes I think it might be easier if I just picked up her stuff myself. I should probably sign out and read a few training books from my library. And stop buying more toys.

Happy reading,

Jessica

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Unicorn

Child's drawing of a unicorn

Dear Emma,

Your unicorn is darling with its fancy tail bow. How big are unicorns, anyway? Are they the size of a horse, or more like a pony? Or a donkey? Or a small goat?

Today’s weather was so glorious, I almost think I saw a unicorn while walking my dog in our local woods. I hope you write a story about one. I’m sure your story would make unicorns feel very real to skeptics like me. Your drawing almost has me convinced!

Happy reading,

Jessica

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Pixies and demons

Child's drawing of fantastic creatures

Dear Claire,

I will look for all your fantastic creatures this afternoon when I go for a walk with my dog Ivy in the woods. We walk everyday (unless it’s blowing rain) and although I haven’t come across a pixie yet, I’ll keep looking. Like you, I think the woods are magical, and whenever we spend time there, Ivy runs around like a speed demon. Perhaps that counts?

Happy reading,

Jessica

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Goldie

Dear Grace,

You write so beautifully about your horse Goldie using all of your senses to describe her. I sense that you could write a wonderfully emotional story about your adventures with her.

Just the other day, I was walking in downtown Halifax, and a police officer on a black horse clippity-clopped by. It was adorable, and the horse was so calm and elegant despite the busy traffic. I stopped and took a long moment just to watch and appreciate the combination of beauty and duty that they demonstrated. Both horses and dogs are a lucky addition to any police force.

Happy reading,

Jessica

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Happy animal

Dear Rateriios,

What a lovely collection of personality traits you’ve given to your imaginary animal. I especially like that it can run in a perfect circle. Circles are so hard to run, although sometimes I feel like I’m running in circles. Being happy all the time is also very hard. Extremely hard! You’ve created a very interesting animal to write a story about.

Happy reading,

Jessica

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Chubby and Ginger

Dear Maddy,

Your cats are adorable. Does the heat bother them in the summer? I have a big puppy who has been flattening herself onto the hardwood floor and shoving her head under furniture to try to stay cool.

I am glad to learn that you have a photograph of your two cats. It is important to keep records, like photographs, of things you want to remember. When I visit schools, that is one of the tips I tell students. It makes it a lot easier to write stories when you grow up if you can look at records so that you can include interesting details about when you were little that you might have forgotten.

Give Chubby and Ginger a tummy rub for me.

Happy reading,

Jessica