A Writer's Best Friend

I'm referring to Dozer, of course, of Dozer's Run. And to my own Toby. And to countless other dogs who lie patiently by our feet as we weave words into stories--or blog posts or emails or to-do lists. And who remind us when it's time to step away from the screen, the notebook, the sheaf of papers.Dozer, his mom, and I visited the beautiful Benchmark School, outside Philadelphia, in between snow and ice storms last week. What great kids, faculty, and staff at this school for children with learning differences. They were inquisitive, creative, funny, and--no surprise here--completely won over by Dozer. Here is just one group of kids out of the many that day who got to meet this handsome guy:I also had the chance to visit with kids at Bright Beginnings on Read Across America Day earlier this week. Bright Beginnings is a child care center for children who live in D.C.'s homeless shelters. See the little boy hanging on my knees in the photo below? As soon as he saw Dozer's Run, he insisted that Dozer's name was "Bruno." He could not be convinced otherwise. And so . . . Bruno it was for that story time! I'm sure Dozer would not have minded giving up his name to satisfy this tyke.We lost our own sweet, sweet Toby dog two weeks ago. She was nearing thirteen years old and finally just gave out. Here she is in happier, healthier times:I miss her like crazy. And so, when I went to Benchmark School last week to bring Dozer and his book to the students there, I needed a big ol' dose of Dozer myself--and I got it. Look how dear he is.