THE SOFTNESS SCALE

LADY WAS SOFT, BUT NOT SUPER SOFT

I WAS JUST thinking recently that the three softest animals I've ever petted were a samoyed (fluffy white dog), a rabbit (Petey) and a chinchilla. My sister-in-law owned the rabbit and the chinchilla, and I probably stroked both of them on the same day.

Not surprisingly, the chinchilla was in a class by itself. Petey was probably a bit softer than the samoyeds at the dog park, but not much.

I can't even think of what No. 4 would be on the softness meter. Our Lady felt like velvet when trimmed close, so she may have been No. 4. Without the close trim, though, she wasn't in the same league. (Her EARS were, though.)

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