tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8903693293302206339.comments2008-09-22T08:04:49.885-07:00Amberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04434588494827321419noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8903693293302206339.post-68019095991455840622008-09-22T08:04:00.000-07:002008-09-22T08:04:00.000-07:00love your blog! I'll be back!! :)THE SANDY DOG BAKERYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10273708762703538457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8903693293302206339.post-83638299141730072892008-09-22T08:04:00.000-07:002008-09-22T08:04:00.000-07:00I'm sooooo sorry :(THE SANDY DOG BAKERYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10273708762703538457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8903693293302206339.post-24663604448600619962008-09-18T16:05:00.000-07:002008-09-18T16:05:00.000-07:00I'm sorry you and your family have to go through this. It sounds as though you loved her very much though, and this was the best thing you could do for her. Best wishes...lizzylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04364624005619242634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8903693293302206339.post-83568934379276412012008-09-18T16:04:00.000-07:002008-09-18T16:04:00.000-07:00yikes! dog shows can be very strange...he has seen "Best in Show" hasn't he??lizzylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04364624005619242634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8903693293302206339.post-66949195942363830352008-09-16T19:18:00.000-07:002008-09-16T19:18:00.000-07:00So sorry to hear about your loss. It's hard, but the memories will stay near and dear to your hearts. We had to put our family dog to rest almost four years ago. Murphy was a black lab and lived to be 14. My son was 7 when we got her and my daughter was 9. <BR/><BR/>Take care,<BR/>Lauracoopercreekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05274287451874355408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8903693293302206339.post-7067889227089203862008-09-15T17:07:00.000-07:002008-09-15T17:07:00.000-07:00Thanks for visiting my blog. Your dogs are adorable!Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17208488977177448081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8903693293302206339.post-11112380720133149372008-09-12T18:35:00.000-07:002008-09-12T18:35:00.000-07:00hi amber!<BR/>it is so nice to meet you. sounds like a great plan! you are going to have so much fun!<BR/>:) melissaMelissa and Emmitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16650510881195544040noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8903693293302206339.post-25412691091993091232008-08-05T14:19:00.000-07:002008-08-05T14:19:00.000-07:00Hi Amber, thanks for dropping by the Dish. I only saw your comment just now and I don't think any dog has the patience to lick a Tootsie Roll Pop.Jeannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823269912693006949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8903693293302206339.post-8885808593865862002008-06-15T08:01:00.000-07:002008-06-15T08:01:00.000-07:00Your dogs are so cute, Amber, and I do like their names.Lynn Sinclairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07033551915991015255noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8903693293302206339.post-55052827043811260092008-04-17T10:25:00.000-07:002008-04-17T10:25:00.000-07:00Thanks, Neandergirl! I will definitely have to take a look at those books. I think the journal article about working women did compare women who have pets to women who do not have pets, but part of the reason they didn't see a difference between the two groups seems to be that the women didn't spend enough time with their animals to really get the benefit. In that case, it would make sense that, as you were saying, they probably were not able to interact with their animals enough to get the benefit of their brain waves. :) Now I know why I feel so much better when I'm training my dogs!Amberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04434588494827321419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8903693293302206339.post-79439923512978395222008-04-13T02:35:00.000-07:002008-04-13T02:35:00.000-07:00You should check out the book A General Theory of Love. The authors review recent work on the limbic system...It's the part of the brain that processes emotion. It's also the part that makes us mammals--all mammals have a limbic brain. Other creatures, like reptiles, do not. One of the most interesting features of the limbic brain--and this definitely relates to having dogs--is that we off load some of our emotional processing. We cannot do it all ourselves and so our roommates, co-workers, spouses and pets--all the mammals that spent 8 or so hours a day with us, get recruited to help us process emotion. Lots of emotion, no mammal companions=lots of anxiety. By the way, we send our emotions off to our furry friends via brain waves. They catch the wave, do the work and send the processed info back to--you guessed it--immune system cells in our hearts.<BR/>Don't take those journal articles you cite too seriously...comparing two pet owning women to each other doesn't tell us much. The real question is whether an individual pet owning woman would be in a different condition without her animals. Who knows how bad off she would be, even if she is comparatively OK compared to other non-mammal owning women.<BR/>Before you give up on your naturopathic approach, check out some other reading as well, on cognitive behavioral therapy. Feeling Good and Get Out of Your Words and Into Your Life are a great place to start. Good luck!NeanderGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07461300217978283959noreply@blogger.com