Longtime subscriber, artist and educator Gayle Kabaker recently posted a wonderful story to Facebook, which is routinely taken over by cats. So I emailed asking if she would share it on DART; the answer was “yes.” Here’s an extract, with spoilers removed. You can read the entire piece here.

My whole adult life I thought I was allergic to dogs, Gayle wrote....

Our kids would beg for a dog and I'd say "it's a dog or me, your choice!" First off, I thought I was allergic to dogs, and second, I thought of a dog as just another thing I'd need to take care of. I was actually 'anti dog.' If you brought your dog to our house it had to stay outside. I didn't know the names of my friends’ dogs. Dogs simply didn't matter at all to me. So when I had my 'dog awakening' it was a pretty huge life change.

Me and Ike on The Great Island, Cape Cod

It all began with Ike, the German Shepherd/Rottweiler my musician daughter Sonya 'dog shared' in Brooklyn. Ike was her neighbor's dog. Sonya began jogging and dog sitting Ike and after the neighbor had a baby and moved across town, Ike began to live with Sonya part time. The first time Sonya brought Ike home [to us] it was love at first sight. And I had no allergic reaction. So began my new life as a dog person, and the 8-month hunt for our dog.

Life as a dog person was a whole new way of being in the world. I stopped to pet dogs and talk with the owners. I also spent a lot of time on Petfinder and making visits to shelters looking for our dog. In the meantime, I was getting to know my friends' dogs and learn their names. I started dog sitting our neighbor's dog Lexi. I like to call Lexi my "starter dog."

Lexi, Max, Me. Ike and Sonya on a hike for Peter's birthday 

[A while later] we went to The Simon Foundation about 1-1/2 hours away. You had to fill out an application and give references to come to this shelter. They brought dogs they thought could be right for us into a private room, sparing us the tortuous 'kennel/cages walk'. I was drawn to one dog, and Peter and Max [my husband and son] liked another. We couldn't make a decision so they suggested we leave and think about it. The next day Peter said, "I keep thinking about that dog Hunter, and I could imagine him in our life." And Peter didn't even want a dog! He was going along with it for me.

Left: Me and Charlie. He's not sad OR scared. It's just his face. Right: Charlie dressed up for Halloween

Max wanted to name him Dante. I agreed, but after a few days I said he doesn't seem like a Dante. He feels like a Charlie. This was five years ago….[and] Charlie has kinda become my muse. I paint Charlie as often as I can. He's learned how to pose really well for photos. Sometimes he looks regal, other times he looks really sad. He's always very patient with me. This past Halloween I painted Charlie as SLD - Super Lover Dog. 

Below: Charlie with visiting dog guests