The Nicholberry Dispatch
Back to Zibby's! And can we please abandon the alpha dog theory
BOOK NEWS
I’m so excited that Puppy Brain was selected by Zibby Owens for her Summer Reads program. It’s such an honor! Not only will it be featured in a spotlighted section at Zibby’s Bookshop, but I’ll be joining the other Summer Reads authors for a meet and greet. If you are going to be in the Santa Monica area on June 23rd, please come!
When: June 23rd
Time: 11:30am - 1pm
Where: 1113 Montana Avenue, Santa Monica CA
SOMETHING TO READ
Debunking the Alpha Dog Theory
I have noticed that Amazon has been bundling my book with other books that have an entirely different approach to our relationship with dogs. This is distressing. Part of my personal journey in shifting from alpha dog theory so many years ago started with articles like this. It’s from 2011 and does a terrific job of explaining and deconstructing this false and harmful narrative.
SOMETHING TO LEARN
As we walked around New York, I spent half my time gazing up, marveling at the height of the surrounding buildings and wondering aloud, “How on earth did they build these?” If you know me, you know that I need to know. Thus, this little rabbit hole about the engineering behind the Empire State Building. Fascinating.
SOMETHING TO CONSIDER
“Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” - Mother Teresa
SOMETHING TO LOVE
I posted this on Instagram, as I’ve never seen a picture more perfectly capture the power of a therapy dog than this. Chloe (a Rufus and Harper pup) at Phoenix Children’s Hospital.
Thank you Beth! I am very grateful to be able to look back now over nearly 15 years of puppies and see that by doing this small thing, it's having a big impact. I'm constantly reminded of the stone in the pond and I see the ripple effects from all of these puppies out in the world (and of course their amazing humans who have dedicated the time and effort to serve with them). It's all rather extraordinary!
I am increasingly reflecting on what is good in the world. We do seem to have developed a propensity to talk about and focus on what is bad. I love that you brought this up and even in marveling at the construction of a skyscraper, we can appreciate the ingenuity of the human mind. To some degree, we need to practice positive reinforcement with our species, including in the way we talk about each other and our world. So so much good. And so many good people.