Joan Merriam
Joan Merriam lives in Northern California with her Golden Retriever Frankie and Maine Coon cat Indy, both rescues. She’s lived with dogs for most of her life and has been writing a syndicated newspaper column on life with dogs since 2012. As a freelance writer, she’s authored three books and numerous articles on everything from animals and aging to politics and popular culture. She also teaches Communication Studies at a California community college.
Latest Blog
What’s Your Dog Pet Peeve?
I recently fostered a dog who first greeted me at the shelter that I sprung her from by jumping up on me. I spent the first two days with her almost exclusively working on preventing her from jumping. When I introduced her to a friend, my friend immediately held her arms out and greeted the dog’s enthusiastic jump up with a big hug, petting, and cooing