On this day in 2011 My dog brought me his rubber chicken Before I even got out of bed Because he knew I was sad. On this day in 2001, I packed for a flight to Washington, DC. My co-workers prepared to leave for the airport, when someone called us to the TV, showing a plane crashing into a skyscraper, unfurling clouds of dark gray smoke. Read More

My sister writes a blog about our family’s history. It’s fun to read about where your people came from and see how far you can go back. A few recent posts have really hit home with me. In the spring of 1911, my great grandmother, Lena Hymers, a city girl through and through, left St. Paul, Minnesota and followed her husband, Frank, and his dreams to the vast, open and unsettled plains around Kincaid, Saskatchewan. Read More

Celebrating her love of animals and displaying a vivid imagination through photography and creative storytelling, Barbara introduces the first of several original photo essays starring some of her favorite barnyard talent. Read More

In mid-July I was on my way to a meeting in the city. It was the first meeting since the interview for my part-time summer job and I didn’t want to be late. I was driving on a country road, on my way to the interstate. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a light flash, and then disappear. It flashed again, insisting that I “Check Gages”! Now! Uh oh. The oil pressure gage read “0”, like a flat-lined heart monitor. This couldn’t be good. Read More

Making movies is a little bit like making magic. It may look real on film but, of course, it is all an illusion. I was reminded of this a few weeks back when a good part of the country including western Wisconsin, where I live, was in the grips of a dangerous heat wave. Temperatures soared and heat indexes were at 115º F plus. As I sat working in my home office, sweat dripping off my brow in spite of the two fans positioned on either side of me, I was reminded of when I was working on a feature film called Here on Earth. Read More

Mark your calendars and hightail it to the second annual Dog Days of Stockholm on Friday and Saturday, August 5-6, 2011 in beautiful Stockholm, Wisconsin! Read More

Early in my career as a trainer of animal actors I had the chance to work with a wolf on a TV commercial. A hot shot director flew in from Chicago. I located a wolf owner through another animal trainer, and Steve, a man with many years of experience in handling wildlife for film, brought two beautiful wolves. The set was an abandoned farmhouse out in the middle of a recently vacated cow pasture. We did the filming at night. The wolf’s job was to run up to the door and scratch at it as if trying to get in. My job was to entice the wolf. Read More

You have all heard of celebrities or rock stars that trash their hotel rooms. They break guitars, smash TV sets and leave big messes behind. And although I do not do anything like that, I have been known to break a few rules when it comes to hotels. My work as an animal actor trainer has occasionally forced me to take drastic measures to keep the animals safe and with me at all times. Read More

I must be famous. How can I tell? Well, I have an entourage. My entourage is with me morning, noon, and night. They accompany me while I eat and while I work. I am never alone. I am fascinating to them. They love me, they protect me, they compete with each other for my attention. Read More

Dogs know more than we think. Kylie is a good dog. She is a tri-colored Australian Shepherd and is owned by my good friend Kathy. Kylie is an obedience and breed champion with a room full of ribbons and trophies to show for it. This is a dog that would never dream of being naughty and not doing what is asked of her. Read More