Part 8 of The Breeder You Become series I was sitting at my kitchen table one evening with receipts spread everywhere, a dog asleep under my chair and another one standing beside me with her chin resting on my leg as if she might be able to help, when I made the mistake of trying…

Part 7 of The Breeder You Become series I was going through seed packets one afternoon trying to decide what I could still plant when I found an old envelope with only a few seeds left in it. It was a variety I cared about, which was exactly why I had saved it. There were…

Part 6 of The Breeder You Become series I was sitting on the floor beside a litter one evening, watching puppies who were still young enough to move with more determination than coordination, when one of them stopped in the middle of the pen and studied me. Nothing miraculous happened. She did not strike a…

Part 5 of The Breeder You Become series An old pedigree lay across my kitchen table one evening, its paper softened by years of handling, while the dogs whose names filled its columns slept in the next room. Some of those names belonged to animals I had known. Others reached back through people I had…

Part 4 of The Breeder You Become series One of the hardest things to teach a piano student is that playing the notes and understanding the music are not the same accomplishment. A child may arrive with a difficult piece already chosen because someone performed it beautifully online and made the whole thing appear effortless.…

Part 3 of The Breeder You Become series A puppy application came across my desk not long ago from someone who had clearly spent time trying to give the right answers. The home sounded lovely, the yard was fenced, the veterinary reference was there, and every question had been answered with the kind of care…

Part 4 of The Breeder You Become series One of the hardest things to teach a piano student is that playing the notes and understanding the music are not the same accomplishment. A child may arrive with a difficult piece already chosen because someone performed it beautifully online and made the whole thing appear effortless.…

Part 5 of The Breeder You Become series An old pedigree lay across my kitchen table one evening, its paper softened by years of handling, while the dogs whose names filled its columns slept in the next room. Some of those names belonged to animals I had known. Others reached back through people I had…