Joan Gershman
Bio
Retired - Speech/language therapist, Special Education Asst, English teacher
Websites: www.thealzheimerspouse.com; talktimewithjoan.com
Whimsical essays, short stories -funny, serious, and thought-provoking
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Stories (6/100)
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Stop Hero-Worshiping Police Dogs
Note: Let me be clear that this article is NOT referring to the dogs that are used for search and rescue, NOR is this article referring to the dogs that are used to sniff out drugs in non-lethal situations, such as detecting drugs in your luggage or an abandoned locker. This article is solely focused on the dogs that are trained for lethal duty.
By Joan Gershman4 years ago in Petlife
Dogs vs. Cats — Why Dogs Reign Supreme
There are two types of people in the world - Dog People and Cat People. Both types are aware of what I mean. I don’t want to get myself in trouble with any of my readers who are Cat People, but I am compelled to speak my mind about both animals, so here it is.
By Joan Gershman4 years ago in Petlife
The Survey - Should I Get a Dog?
Warning! This is an interactive article that will need input from you. It’s a survey about a pressing subject that has been keeping me up nights. Should I get a dog? My most recent story, Dogs are People Too, describes in detail my 50-year love affair with dogs. A shortlist of why I adore dogs:
By Joan Gershman4 years ago in Petlife
Dogs Are People Too
If you have ever lived with a dog, this is a no-brainer for you. You know with absolute certainty that dogs have personalities and emotions the same as humans. If you are a scientist, it has taken you a little longer to accept this conclusion. Like maybe a century. Up until recently, most scientists who study these things have believed that dogs reacted to events around them, but were incapable of feeling the human emotions of love, jealousy, animosity, joy.
By Joan Gershman4 years ago in Petlife
A Letter from Dog Heaven
Dear Vocal, Sitting up here in Doggie Heaven, I’ve been keeping an eye on Mom down there on earth for a lot of years. I see that you guys at Vocal want her to write about an exciting adventure we had together. Well, I feel awfully bad about that because, you know, I think Mom’s a really good writer, but I was sort of the “fraidy cat”(whoops- “fraidy dog”) type. As a Golden Retriever, I was of course loyal, loveable, and friendly, but I was also kind of afraid of stuff, so she doesn’t have any grand adventures to write about. No hiking up mountains, water skiing, motorcycle riding, or surfing stories. Sorry. I’ll bet you’re going to get lots of stories about amazing dogs traveling the world with their human parents, but Mom doesn’t have any of those about us.
By Joan Gershman4 years ago in Petlife
