My dog's prettier than your dog

PHOTO TAKEN AT COVINGTON PARK...

I was always proud of our late mutt Lady; maybe I was a little vain as well. Others would talk about their beautiful dogs, and most of the time I knew mine was prettier.

Everywhere we went, people gushed over Lady.

Lady and I were walking into the dog park one day, and a woman was bragging on another owner's dog. I thought, That's a nice-looking dog, but Lady's prettier.

A minute later, the woman noticed Lady. "Oh, isn't that the most beautiful dog?" the woman said of Lady. She carried on for a minute, and my happiness dimmed a bit. Does she do that over every dog? I wondered.

I wound up feeling bad for the first dog owner; that WAS a pretty dog.

But Lady was prettier.

P.S.: I knew Lady wasn't the prettiest dog in the world. We got Lady because the dog my wife wanted, Timothy, had already been taken. He was black with white spots, a real beauty. Still, she was lovely. And she was a sweetie.

NOTE: Lady passed on Sept. 17, 2016.

• Woof! (translation: Go away, kid; you bother me)

EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com  TWITTER: EDITORatWORK

MORE ENTRIES FROM THE DOG BLOG

• Katie cried

• Growl and pull

• 13-plus years with my dog Lady

• ... said the spider to ...

• The Dog Diary (2014)

• YIP! YIP! The stereo-sound huskies

• What Lady and Michael Jackson had in common

EDITOR@WORK BLOG ENTRIES

• You really DO need an editor

• Reminders for would-be novelists

• What I do when I'm editing

• What I charge (it's a deal) and what I edit

• Slogging through the Internet

• J-school: More eyes on your stories

• J-school: Go out and learn

• Rookie mistakes for magazine writers

BLOG ENTRIES BY TOM GILLISPIE

• Resume for a writer and editor

• An editor's views on powerful writing

• Advice for be and would-be novelists

• Links to TG's stories online

• Favorite quotes

• What I do when I'm editing

ANECDOTES BY TOM GILLISPIE

• Wipeout at Death Valley

• Days with rainbows

• A desperate writer working in the dark

• Yer OUTTA there!

BLOG ENTRIES FROM THE AUTO RACING JOURNAL

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(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

• Then Junior Said to Jeff...

(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Jeff Gordon's milk toast to Dale Earnhardt

• Wayne Auton: A life in racing