Animal Docs, Ambiance, Author Pals, Angst

Animal Docs

Several days ago, our veterinarian since 1988 officially retired from Legacy Drive Animal Hospital in Plano, TX. Dr. Robert Gillard founded the animal hospital and when we moved to Plano, he was probably the first doctor we discovered, because, as we all know, our fur babies are incredibly important. The family doctor, dentists, and pediatricians for our children could wait! An additional bonus for me was that Dr. Gillard grew up in Minnesota; my native homeland. Despite now living in the south, I had someone to share Ole & Lena jokes with; someone who clearly understood what ‘Uff da,’ meant.

The animal clinic held an open house to celebrate Dr. Gillard’s outstanding service to all our pets, and it was clear from the large crowd gathered at the animal hospital that Robert Gillard truly has a lasting legacy most would envy. As you can tell by the way this woman (who I don’t actually know) is hugging Dr. Gillard, she represents all of us who are eternally grateful to this man who we really don’t want to let go of.

I handed Dr. Gillard an autographed copy of my book on memoir writing, Things I Wish I’d Told You, and he accepted it with gratitude, before heading back into his office and emerging with four pages of the memoir he’d already begun writing! Not only is this guy a great vet, but he’s also one heck of a writer! When all is said and done, it will read like a James Herriot book.

Jim and I gave him a card, and I also wrote him a letter, reminding him of some rather humorous situations we’ve encountered during our years with him as our vet. Our beloved Gypsy, one who I’ve written about a few times was probably my favorite dog. As Gypsy aged, I’d lament about how feeble she was becoming during her golden years. Every time Dr. Gillard examined her, he’d smile, and say, “Well, this girl’s outlasted her shelf life.” It was a humorous but kind way of reminding us that we were fortunate to have her as long as we did. And to Gypsy’s credit, she lived to be seventeen.

Another dog we had, the dog from hell, was named Sneakers. Sneakers was definitely not the sharpest tool in the toolkit and exhibited some bizarre behaviors. One morning we headed off to work. Upon arriving home, we discovered that Sneakers spent part of her day pulling off an entire toenail that she felt was too long. It seriously was not that long, but, like I said, Sneaks (as we called her) was not playing with a full deck. We rushed her to the animal clinic. Dr. Gillard took it all in stride and when I told him I wondered just how long Sneakers would live with her annoying quirks, Dr. Gillard replied, “Oh, these are the types of dogs that live forever.” He wasn’t wrong; Sneakers lived to be sixteen. And it did feel like forever.

While most romanticize the career of an animal veterinarian, there’s one thing that stands out which separates the mediocre vets from the extraordinary ones. That ‘one thing’ is the gift of comforting families when our fur babies cross over that rainbow bridge. Having been with Dr. Gillard all these years, Jim and I endured this passage many times. I recall one time when we both struggled to say our goodbyes, he hugged us and then replied, “You’re not only mourning a dog here; you’re mourning an era that you can never get back; an era specific to this one pet.” That really put it all in context for me.

If Dr. Robert Gillard does finish writing and publishes his memoir, I’ll be sure and let you know. For those of you with children who aspire to be veterinarians, in a portion of our vet’s memoir that he graciously showed me, he mentions the art of listening as being crucial. By listening to his clients regarding their pets, Dr. Gillard became an amazing veterinarian with thousands of clients.

There’s a Shakespeare quote from Julius Caesar that I often think of, given the state of our country: ‘The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones.’ Thankfully, Dr. Gillard is one of the good ones. I wish we had more people like him. I wish Dr. Gillard and his wife, Kris, all the best as they embark on a new adventure.

Ambiance

On Tuesday, March 25, I had the honor of speaking to a book club at Heritage Ranch; a retirement, golf course community directly across the street from where I live. I was so honored that they chose my memoir, Take Three, as a recent book club read. These ladies were incredibly well-read and extremely engaging. I can’t recall having a better time than I did. And I felt pampered! The second I arrived, one individual helped me set up the table with my swag items on it; another handed me a bottle of water in case I got thirsty; a very nice man who worked there set up my power point presentation effortlessly. I regret not taking a picture of the attendees but do want to thank the wonderful ladies of Heritage Ranch for inviting me to speak. And a huge welcome to my newest newsletter subscribers from this group: Juley Welch & Jan Robins. Welcome aboard!

Author Pals

I hope to see some familiar faces this coming Saturday, April 5th at a place called Gather, located in downtown McKinney. Fifteen authors will be reading a four-minute excerpt from one of their books. I’ll be reading a passage from KILLER IN THE CHOIR, featuring schoolteacher/amateur sleuth Hannah Larsen, and police detective, Liam Kincaid as they butt heads when Hannah tires to tell this guy how to conduct his investigation.

This event will last all afternoon, and they’ll conduct raffle drawings for free books. The book I’m choosing for the raffle is . . .

Angst

Homeless for the Holidays continues to be a favorite with my readers. I call it my Hallmark with Angst read. Years ago, I actually submitted it to Hallmark and they liked it. The reason they turned it down was because it contained cheating in a marriage—unfaithfulness. While I did remind them that when the book opens, the person in the marriage who cheated was already dead. But rules are rules, so they didn’t accept it. I do love having this story to share with my readers who insist that this book should have been a Hallmark movie!

Thank you whoever you are who gave me my 50th book review on Amazon for Take Three. I’m over the moon. Please know that authors depend on book reviews to survive. I’ve had discussions with four authors this week who are considering abandoning their writing careers because their readers are just not willing to post reviews. While there are authors who do pay for reviews, I’ll never be willing to do that. 

Feel free to share this newsletter with your friends. I’m always looking for new subscribers. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it! I’m so grateful to have you all as my dear friends, subscribers, readers, and animal lovers!

Gay 

P.S. If you enjoyed his newsletter, I would love to hear from you! Thanks so much!