Amy Newmark's Blog - Posts Tagged "dogs"

There's something truly magical about dogs — their natural joy, resilience, and protectiveness are so often combined with affection, intuition, courage, and just plain smarts. They keep us company, provide unconditional love, and act as our therapists. They make us better people!

You'll laugh, tear up, and nod your head in recognition as your read the stories in our new collection, Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Magic of Dogs.

Here are previews of two of my favorite stories from the book that show the ways that dogs have added magic to the lives of our writers:

Dogs show you that rules are made to be broken.
In Holly Green's story "Hershey's Visit" the medical practice where she worked was dog friendly, as long as the doctor’s chocolate Labrador stayed in the back of the office. Patients never saw Hershey—until the day that Mrs. Bea was there for a checkup. At the end of the appointment, Holly wrote up her prescriptions and asked how she was doing. Mrs. Bea burst into tears. She revealed that her dog had died the week before in a tragic household accident. As Mrs. Bea sobbed, and Holly tried to comfort her, Hershey walked into the room. Holly was horrified that the dog had invaded the patient area. But Hershey headed straight for the grieving woman and put his head in her lap. He wasn’t wagging his tail and looking for attention the way he normally would. He was quiet and respectful and there for one purpose: to comfort the crying stranger. When she had calmed down, Hershey quietly returned to his normal location in the doctor’s office in the back. Holly says, “To my knowledge—and I worked in that office for many years—Hershey never entered a patient room again. But he was there that day when he was needed, and he did just the right thing.”

You can learn to reject stereotypes.
In his story "How I Fell in Love with a Pit Bull" Scott Elliff and his wife were in mourning for their dog when they decided to try fostering for a local animal shelter. Their first foster was a success and the little dog they hosted was adopted by a family. When it came time to foster again, they were asked to take a large, friendly Pit Bull who didn’t get along with the other dogs at the shelter. Scott had always heard bad things about Pits and he was not in favor of having this dog in their home. But this outwardly scary dog turned out to be a sweetheart—gentle, affectionate, and eager to please. Using simple techniques like a longer leash calmed her anxieties, too, and she started behaving better around other dogs. Still, the prejudice against Pit Bulls kept her from being adopted, so Scott and his wife kept fostering her. When an adoption was finally arranged, Scott was heartbroken, and when it fell through, you know what happened. Scott and his wife officially adopted that formerly forlorn Pit Bull and Scott says, “Strangely, I no longer see the beast in her, only her magnificence and beauty. I can’t imagine life without her


Amy Newmark

It's National Dog Week! What a perfect time to talk about dogs and how so many of them love to have a purpose. When they can’t do their jobs they get antsy, and their humans need to find them something new to do, a new way to contribute.

Below is a preview of one of my favorite stories from our book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Magic of Dogs, about a dog who was so committed to doing good that his human had to make sure she could keep going to work every day!

In Tracy Beckerman's story "On the Job" Tracy has to find something for her dog Monty to do during the pandemic. Monty, despite some early bad behavior during his puppy and teenage years, had become a therapy dog after Tracy had gone through the very difficult process of training him, which meant acting like the alpha dog and meaning it. But it worked and Monty loved being a therapy dog. His favorite thing in the world was to have his belly scratched, and there were many people willing to do that for him all day. Tracy says, “We visited children battling cancer, seniors with dementia, and even worked the airports when flights were delayed or canceled, and passengers needed a way to blow off some steam. On the job, he was the center of attention.”

Monty loved going to work. But then the COVID-19 pandemic struck, and Monty the Therapy Dog had nowhere to go. No job, no morning walks with his dog friends, no chasing a ball in the local dog park. Tracy says, “Soon, I got the feeling that he was more depressed about the isolation than my husband and I were, and I realized I needed to do something to stimulate him or risk the chance that he would start snacking on our underwear again.”

Tracy asked her husband if he would pretend to need therapy. He reluctantly agreed and Tracy put her plan into action. She put Monty in his official vest and bandanna and clipped his badge to his collar. Then she put on her official sweatshirt and badge and slung her therapy backpack, which held the dog’s certification papers and some dog biscuits, over her shoulder. Monty perked up and struck his therapy-dog stance.

She took him outside, closed the door, and knocked on it. The dog sat next to her and waited patiently.

“Hello,” she shouted as she opened the door and stepped in. “We’re here for your therapy visit.”

“Up here,” yelled her husband from the top of the stairs.

Tracy said, “Monty, therapy,” and they walked up the stairs. Tracy’s husband lay on the floor pretending to be in pain. Monty lay down next to him and rested his chin on her husband’s leg.

“Good job, Monty!” she said. “And good job to you, too, honey. You really look like you’re in pain!”

“I really am in pain,” her husband said as he massaged his leg. “I tripped over the dog’s toy and slammed my shin into the coffee table.”

“Well, you did it for a good cause,” Tracy replied. “See how happy he is.”


Amy Newmark