Rachel Cann's stories in All Woe Great and Small remind us that dogs are man's best friends. Gerbils, however, are more like the annoying acquaintances you block on Facebook.
One of your essays tells the story of how you won a court case to
retain custody of your beloved dog, Boston. Tell us one of your
favorite stories about Boston.
Boston's beginning was at the top of a mountain in North Conway, New
Hampshire, with a breeder who called her the runt of the litter, since
she was the only one left. On the 3 hour drive back to Boston, Mass, the
puny pup's name became Chelsea. She was so terrified of the sidewalks,
she had to be carried. Chelsea was bred to a huge Alpha dog, which I
purchased for 50 dollars, because he had had chewed everything on his
owner's dresser. Precious, as he had been called by the previous owner,
was so magnificent, when I first saw him from the windows of the
Florida stilt house I lived in, tears came to my eyes. This dog often
tried to push me down the stairs leading to my front door, until I tamed
him. Of all my dogs, Precious was the most faithful. Chelsea was
determined by the vet to be unsuitable for breeding. But when he offered
to dispense with the pups, I demurred. So poor Chelsea, towards the
end, a big as a watermelon in the middle, had a hard time climbing those
very steps Precious had sought to cause my demise. When she gave birth,
"daddy" watched through my bedroom window and Chelsea gave him a snarl
of anguish as poignant and readable as any human in labor might. The 13
pups were a Florida record! Boston was one. They all came with me when I
moved back to Boston, but no landlord wanted dogs. Many are forced to
have their dogs put down. But I couldn't do it. My heart was always
bigger than my brain. We lived for a long time in my car, where I wrote
a few stories of our adventures, published in Spare Change, the
newspaper for the homeless. It was a hard decision to make, but when my
son offered to take one dog, Boston went to live with my 2
grandchildren. When he became 12ish and somewhat incontinent, I got him
back, and my acupuncturist, Marie Cargill, gave him the same treatments
she had given my other two and thanks to her, Boston and I had another
year together of pure joy.
Your other essays recounts
the great personal risk you went through to deliver pet gerbils to your
hospitalized son. What was his reaction when he saw them?
The gerbils were the farthest thing from my son's mind once I got him a puppy, a cat, and two Spectacled Amazonians.
What would the title of your autobiography be, and why?
My memoir-in-progress is called
Connected, and I want to inspire others
to believe in what God only knows, that we are all here for a reason,
and that we are all able to realize our fondest dreams.
Promote yourself. Where else can we find more of your writing?
RachelCann.Com is my new URL. I would appreciate some followers to build a platform.
