Dieting with My Dog

Yes, you can do everything with your dog, including improve your health. Author and pet columnist, Peggy Frezon, took the time to visit with me recently to share her writerly thoughts on Author Exchange Blog. She's sharing her "animal" side with us here on Forever Friends today.

Which do you like better, dogs or cats, and why?

I love all animals, I’ve shared my home with dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, gerbils, goldfish, turtles, even a hermit crab. If I had to say, I’m really more of a dog person because I’ve always developed more of a relationship with my dogs, and I think I understand dogs better than I understand cats.

Which do you like better, dogs or people, and why?

Honestly, both. I think we all need both dogs and people in our lives. One cannot completely substitute for the other.

How did you come to share your home with Kelly, the dog with whom you dieted?

While I was going through the empty next, I found myself spending countless hours on the Petfinders website, visiting the homeless dogs. Then one day I saw Kelly’s adorable furry face, and I knew she would join our family. She came from a rescue home in New York, and she was about 1 year old when we got her. She immediately put our yellow lab in his place, letting him—and us—know that she was top dog.

Do you think there's an intrinsic difference between people who have pets and those who don't have (and don't want) pets? If so, share your philosophy.

There are many people who don’t have, and don’t want, pets. Maybe it’s allergies or lack of time and space. The difference is people who don’t like pets. That is something I would wonder about. I always feel more comfortable with people who love animals.

Peggy Frezon, author of Dieting with my Dog (Hubble & Hattie, 2011), is an award-winning writer, regularly published in Guideposts and Angels on Earth magazines, and a contributor to more than a dozen Chicken Soup for the Soul books. Other publishing credits include stories in The Ultimate Dog Lover, Miracles and Animals, Animals and the Kids Who Love Them, Chicken Soup for the Soul; My Dog's Life, and more. Peggy writes a twice-monthly web column, Pawsitively Pets, is a staff writer for Be the Change for Animals, and blogs at Peggy’s Pet Place. She has two grown children, and lives with her wonderful husband Mike and lovable spaniel-dachshund mix, Kelly.

Connect with her on Peggy’s Pet Place blog (http://peggyfrezon.blogspot.com/), website (http://www.peggyfrezon.com/), Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/peggyfrezon) and Twitter (http://twitter.com/peggyfrezon)