(Maria, Art Teacher Sue Silverstein, the artist Blue, at the Bishop Maginn High School,  looking on an Iphone at Maria’s blog and her quilts. I love this photo, it says so much about my life.)

I posted a jokey thing the other day about my best posts and why people choose different posts to be the best ones I have ever done or they have read. These comments remind of how personal and individual reading is, everyone is different.

And of course, the post prompted a curious and revealing discussion of what people liked to read on my blog, and what they don’t like to read as much.

A number of people said, as they often write to me, that my best writing comes when I tell happy animal stories – Happy Bud, Happy Donkeys, Happy Fate, Happy Bud.

Now that they mention it, I do write a lot of happy animal stories.  And I write about some other things – spirituality, refugees, awakening, love, the elderly, rural life. I even write some sad animal stories.

But this does not make everyone happy. Some people tell me quite frankly that they want me to write only happy animal stories, with a couple of enlightenment pieces tolerated every now and then. There was a time when this would have been upsetting to me. But it isn’t now. I can see things from their point of view.

“There’s a lot of bad  news out there,” wrote June, “and I love to read stories about animals, I always miss them when you write about other things.”

You know what? I do understand that. Happy animal stories are shining jewels in the mud and muck of modern media.

I pity the poor people who look at the news every morning for some guidance on what is happening in their  world, and they see all this nasty garbage raining down on them. An awful way to begin the day.

Nobody was nasty or belittling, I appreciate their honesty. I think they know in their hearts what happens. I love animal stories, , but I would wither and die if that’s all I write.

In my writing life animal stories are only one of the things I have written about. I’ve written novels, mysteries, non fiction book, media criticism, essays (even a sex column under a pseudonym for a famous woman’s magazine) I’ve written extensively about the Internet, hackers, geeks and technological trends.

It wasn’t until 2001 that I figured out if I wrote about dogs, publishers would publish my books, as long as there was a dog on the cover, they didn’t care much what I wrote. Then I started loving writing about dogs, but it was never my intention to write about nothing else.

And my perspective on dogs was not exactly the most popular. The best-selling dog story on the planet is called The Rainbow Bridge. And nobody even knows who wrote it.

It has sold millions of copies, which I have not.

You will not find this bridge celebrated on bedlamfarm.com, I really dislike it. The last thing I want is to find a bunch of Border Collies, Labs and Boston Terriers waiting eagerly for me on the other side of the bridge when I die – all healed and full of energy – to chase balls pile into bed with me for all eternity.

When my dogs die, I do not wish to meet them “on the bridge,” as people like to say. My wish for them is that they can play and run, eat gross things, have sex and chase sheep forever, just not with me.

I want more for them that chasing balls I throw without end.

I mean, what is hell like, exactly?

Allyson posted a message on my blog that caught my eye and summed up what I am trying to do, and I hope I am doing.

“All the subjects you write about are a part of your life, they are connected by your life, and they illuminate your life which is why I read your blog. Write on.”

That was put so well, I couldn’t say it better, or even as well. That is what all my writing is about – including happy animal stories.

Thanks Allyson. She nailed it really, everything I write about here, including happy animal stories, is a part of my life. They are all connected by my life, and they are meant to capture it honestly and diligently, good and bad.

My blog is not an animal blog, it is the story of a life, that’s the point for me, to only do happy animal stories is not a life, it’s a Disney channel. And there are plenty of those, June, you don’t need me.

I find life with animals bittersweet, not all joy. Remember little Gus, the first puppy I ever had who died of a wasting disease. There was nothing happy about that, but I shared it every step of the way. I respect life, it is not all dancing with the angels. Animals die a lot, a lot of things can kill them.

People have the right to their own expectations, I can’t fault anybody for that. But in the final analysis, the blog has to be about what I want to write, not what anybody else wants me to write. That’s the boundary.

I see it as part of my task to be positive and uplifting and to use the blog to do good. A part of that is writing about animals in a way that reflects my love and your love for them.

But I sure don’t wish to mislead or fool anybody. If you are seeking only good and happy news, you are not in the right place.

For me, every post is my best post ever, because it captures a moment in my life that connects one part to the other, and that is what any good memoir is supposed to do. I think you have to read a lot of them, almost every day, to put all the pieces of the puzzle together.