Lucy threw up on her bed a couple of weeks ago — the one the shelter workers gave her — and I couldn't clean it out. So I tossed it. Today, she's curled up under the table on Madeline's hoodie. I imagine she loves it, full of the warm, familiar smell of those she loves. It reminds me of the day after Lucy got taken, when I went to the shelter, and they wouldn't let me see her. I left a bag of stuff for her. Anything that smelled like home. Socks. Toys. I wanted her to know that we were still here. I can close my eyes and remember the way that day felt. I can smell the shelter as I walked in. I can hear the barking. I can feel the fear that I knew Lucy felt and the shaking in my hands that I couldn't control. A part of that sadness will remain etched inside of me forever now, as a memory. I think this is where the wisdom of age comes from. Now, my 11-year-old dog is sleeping peacefully, curled up with another warm, familiar object, while her girls finger-paint on the table next to her and soft music plays while a fire warms the house. These are the times it is all too easy to take for granted — until they are gone. Until they are locked in a cell. We were blessed. We got them back. In retrospect, two months feels like a mercy. I can't help but think of the others. Snuggles. Major. Atlas. The other families that have had these moments seized from them by an overzealous and heavy-handed government. Some for over a year. You're not just taking our dogs. You are taking this. You are taking these precious moments and throwing them in a cold, hard cell, waiting to die. Like they don't even matter. But they do. It doesn't have to be like that. There is another way. Look at this photo. Maybe you'll see it. #SaveSnuggles #SaveAtlas #FreeMajor

Can't forget the cats.

I've thought about this a lot. From my book, Desert Pearl: “Sometimes I think… when this is all over, I’d give anything to sit down with every dog I’ve ever lost. Just be with them again. Tell them how much they mattered. Say I’m sorry for the times I let them down. Ask what they were thinking all those years, just watching me.” I gave Lucy two pats with my hand. “Really talk to them. Without words getting in the way."

Stick your tongue out if you approve. Tank does.

The downside of staying up late working on MBA work is crashing on the couch at 1 am. The downside of crashing on the couch is getting woken up by the first child or animal to stir in the grey light. But when that's Evelyn and little Nubbins the cat, maybe it's not so bad.

After watching how @Grok brought Lucy the puppy to life yesterday, I decided to try another sequence of photos I took of her ten years ago in the desert on the border of ISIS-controlled territory. I didn't take many photos over there, and I didn't show anything in the background for OPSEC reasons. But I got enough. These are the eyes that steadied me in war. This is the pup that your prayers helped rescue. Thank you, Grok.

Well, @Grok, I've got to hand it to you. You brought this man to the verge of tears, right here in the DC Metro. I put some old photos of Lucy - taken overseas on the border of ISIS territory 10 years ago - into Grok and Grok brought them to life. Is it perfect? No. A stick completely disappears and then reappears out of nowhere. But there she is again, my sweet girl, my Lulu. My #DesertPearl. My book, Desert Pearl, is out on Amazon right now. For the love of that little scruffy stray from the desert. #MulberryPatchPress @Herb_Minstrel - this is what she looked like over there. This is the puppy I fell for.

He's a big boy.

We've been having a drought. The pond down the hill has gone dry. Christian and I found a bullfrog looking for water. We caught him with a net and drove him a few miles to the Shenandoah. Being able to do things like this in the middle of e day is why I love working from home.

I can't wait to see it. #SaveSnuggles

Lex pulled me over once when he tugged on his leash. I fell down and hurt my hip. I guess we ought to just kill little Lexi-boy too. You know, for "public safety." @12News seems to think the 1st Amendment protects the freedom of the press to be government lackeys. #SaveSnuggles

I don't have time these days to deal with drama. There's enough of it in my own backyard. Like this. Lucy wiggled on her back. Big drama.

Another time, another place

With the cooler evening temps here at the end of summer in the Shenandoah Valley, I'm sitting in the field a lot more with my computer, getting Lucy some run time with Lex and spending time with the animals while I run the business and work on MBA coursework. It's nice to be able to sit out here and work in the fresh air. It's nice to let Lucy roll in the dirt without a muzzle on. But man, Tank. You make this hard sometimes!

If that doesn't make you want to roll in the grass, nothing will.

Seriously. This is way cooler.

Madeline has such a flair for the dramatic.

I was a college athlete. Western Washington University. When we got our shot against the Washington Huskies, we laid it all out there. Yesterday, Western Michigan laid it all on the line against the Michigan Wolverines. They got robbed by the Big-10 refs. Shame on the B1G.

#AmericasDog says #SaveSnuggles. Pima County and the City of Tucson - we hold you no ill will. Your county and city are beautiful. But you are standing in the way of an oncoming freight train. Do the right thing. Let Snuggles come home.

God is with us always. Emmanuel. I know this when I look into the eyes of my dog. Pray.

Got the first shipment of #DesertPearl books in today! Working on getting them paw printed, them signed, then mailed. Lucy says, "I didn't sign up for this."

We ordered the hardcover version of @breeadail's "American Pup in Rome," and it arrived yesterday. It is beautiful! It really takes children's books to a new level. But it's not just for kids. It's for anyone who wants a moment of escape to the cobbled streets of Rome. Madeline and I have been loving it. a.co/d/03gnAaAS Please check it out if you have not yet!

In a world that feels starved of good news, I got some. I recently took Lucy to the vet. She'd been throwing up a bit, and it had me a bit worried. We got her blood work back, though, and it's normal. She's healthy. We celebrated with a hike in West Virginia, where Lucy can walk without a muzzle. It wasn't much. A hike that an 11-year-old dog can manage as well as a five-year-old girl. But it was fun.

These people seem to know the Missouri K9 officer who starved his police dogs. They seem to think there's a lot more to the story. I'd love to know their perspective on what really may have happened. If it is was different than has been reported, people should know.

I have not verified this. But HOLY CRAP if this is true. 🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮

Glad to see Puppy Rescue Mission - the organization that brought both Lucy and Lex home from war zones overseas - still rescuing war dogs. This world needs some good news. @PuppyRescueMiss

I might be busy these days, but there's always time to stop and pray for Snuggles and family. If you haven't already, I'd appreciate it if you looked into the book I wrote about Lucy! Link here: 👉a.co/d/0dcbNn9n #SaveSnuggles #AmericasDog 2.0 #DesertPearl

I'm all for X being an open forum where we can speak freely. But this isn't free speech. This is animal cruelty.

Best wishes to Ray from me and Lucy! Get well! God bless.

I haven't seen these rumors, but let me squash them. I've met the family. I've been to their home. This is 100% legit and heartbreaking. Here's Lucy with Snuggles' family.

Some days, you've just got to stand in the water you're drinking.

At first, I thought my mom left this review. I actually even called her up to thank her. She didn't. If the person who left this review is out there - thank you! You made my day. God, I love that little dog. I'm so glad I was able to capture some of that. #DesertPearl

Nothing beats a good dog.

Finally. It's been more than two months. Lucy just played with Lex. Happy National Dog Day. #SaveSnuggles

Some days suck for dumb reasons. Headed to church, got pulled over for an overdue inspection sticker on my 2006 Ford. Knew it was expired. Trooper chewed me out. Not the first time. During COVID, after my wife’s minivan sat in the shop for six months getting a new tranny, I got ticketed driving it home. I explained why I hadn't had it inspected yet, but the trooper didn't care. Later, the same officer ticketed my truck for an overdue sticker; the shop had just forgotten to put a new one on. I showed the officer proof of the inspection, but again, he didn't care. "Go to court and show the judge if you want to fight this," he said both times. In each case, it was just easier to pay the $30 fine, unjust though it may have been, than to take a day off work to sit in court. Last year, the truck rolled into a tree in my yard while it was parked. Still don't know how that happened. A friend offered to fix it, so I left it at his house. Well, he died. Cancer. Fast. Nasty. I finally did the bodywork myself after nearly a year of my truck sitting in his driveway. It's not pretty, but it's a 20-year-old truck. I'd talked to the local shop, but we just hadn't coordinated a time for the inspection yet. So now I have a pretty long record of overdue inspections. At least on paper. Hence the diatribe against me in front of my kids on the way to church. I'm so sick of cops nicking law-abiding people over petty stuff while real criminals roam free. The troopers were out in force this morning collecting blood money from folks headed to church. We missed service. Instead, I took the kids for a picnic at the park. I was grateful to have Lucy waiting for me at home to cheer me up.

Livestock guardian dogs = food security

I'm so grateful to see reviews like this come in for my book about my dog, Lucy. Thank you! a.co/d/0fjkOGCz #DesertPearl #AmericasDog #SaveSnuggles

From #SaveLucy to #SaveSnuggles, thank you, Sean.

"Caught you! Sneaking into the coop. Lucy..." "Yeah, so what? I've been keeping these things safe for ten years and haven't asked for a thing. Now I'm gonna get what's mine." No remorse.

With everything that has happened recently and the attention I've given to my book (shameless plug: a.co/d/0hvThT7q), I haven't been tending to the sheep pasture as I should have. Yesterday, I finally took my mower out there to cut down some of the thistles that were choking it. Sherman followed me the whole time. Unlike his brother Tank, Sherman is with the lambs full time, so if I'm not back in the pasture, he's not getting much time with me. I've got to get back there with him more. He obviously craves it. He's basically a white version of Snuggles. Great dog. #savesnuggles #AmericasDog #desertpearl

I am just speaking for myself, but I cannot imagine a heaven where the Lord of all creation does not have a place for the souls He sent to be our companions on four legs. Will keep you and Hurley in our prayers tonight, Sara. God bless.

God bless, Niall, for the work you do. #SaveSnuggles (if you don't know what that is, click the hashtag and find out - it's not pretty)

John Lewis

I'm writing to followers of mine who are on the left. I know a lot of you stood with me in my fight to #SaveLucy. I am deeply grateful for your support. I know we will not agree on everything, but certain issues cut across politics. Saving Lucy was one of them. I need you again. There is another dog to save: Snuggles. In Pima County, Arizona. A lot of conservative voices have already joined the chorus calling for Snuggles to be released to his family after ten months (yes, TEN) in a kennel, but the truth is, I don't think we can do this without the left. Tucson is not the Shenandoah Valley. Conservative media was enough to put sufficient pressure on the county here to save Lucy. It is not enough to move the government in Pima County to do the right thing. Liberal friends, we need you. We need your media to shine a light on what is happening in Tucson. We need your "Good Trouble". Join us. Let's show the country that there are still some things that unite us all as Americans. That there are some things that we will all fight for together. Because there are. Issues like this are not right vs left. They are special interests vs the people and our dogs. Let's show the special interests continuing the unjust punishment of a family and their dog that their time is up. The People have had enough. Let's do it. Together. #SaveSnuggles #AmericasDog 1.0 and 2.0 @KVOA @abc15 @kgun9 @KOLDNews @12News @azfamily @FOX10Phoenix @KTAR923 @TucsonStar

Tank approves. God bless.

So glad I got this one out of that hellhole.

Lucy says #SaveSnuggles. Thank you, Sean.

Oh man, I'm so sorry to hear this, Sara. We lost our Gatsby to cancer a few years ago. I was out late taking night classes after work, and he held on just long enough to say goodbye to me that night after I got home. This is the last picture I took of him a day before he died. 🙏

Remember the guy who did the Free Lucy song? He just did another song about a dog "Fred" - a dog "who owned me" as he put it. I love it! @music29933 - maybe it's time for a #FreeSnuggles song? piped.video/watch?v=L0LofIWe…

Just submitted #DesertPearl for hardcover! This is the one I've been wanting. I couldn't help myself — I just had to use the cover I wanted in the first place. I love it.

I try not to get angry easily, but this has me really ticked off. For years, I have had to drive into town to collect our packages. Those of you who have read #DesertPearl will read about this. The mailman will not deliver to our house. He doesn't even attempt delivery. Instead, he leaves these infernal pink slips in our mailbox. I have to drive into town every few days just to pick up items that my wife needs. There is a real cost to this. It hurts her business (mulberrypatchhome.com) — the same business that many of you have ordered from, teas, soaps, Lucy bracelets, etc. Why pay taxes if we can't even get services from our local post office? All because the mailman is friends with a neighbor who hates us. It's not right, but they won't do anything about it. So I'm posting about it here.

I love seeing autofill options on Amazon. It means people are searching for my book, #DesertPearl. You know what my favorite one is? The one that has my name misspelled. That means people who don't know me (or don't know me well) are searching for it. Thank you! #SaveSnuggles

This is a very late thank you. In the days after Lucy was taken, I was posting our petition anywhere I could. Almost nobody noticed. This is before Leisha got involved. Those days felt heavy. There was no relief. The first flicker of hope came from @attackdogX. We had previously had conversations about Islam and counter-terrorism. She was the largest account on X that I had engaged with at the time. She left a comment on one of my posts. After that, that post got a thousand views. At the time, it may as well have been a million. One of those views, I believe, was Leisha, or someone close to Leisha. The rest is history. Lucy is home. Now, we've got a book out (amazon.com/dp/B0HF31LGWK), and we're taking the fight to the system to save another dog, Snuggles. Thank you, Mrs. B. You gave me hope when I had very little. Follow her. #SaveSnuggles #AmericasDog #DesertPearl

Looks just like our Lex.

Thank you, Jennifer! I wish that what happened to our families and dogs never occurred, but I'm grateful for the chance my family has had to get to know yours through this and to join you in the fight. It's a fight worth having. #SaveSnuggles #AmericasDog #DesertPearl

Dolly tells me that we have sold out of the #DesertPearl books I ordered for the fundraiser for Snuggles' family. I don't have the exact figure, but *conservatively*, we've raised over $1,000 for them. This is not our generosity; it is yours. Should I order more? Is there enough continued demand for more signed (and paw-printed) Desert Pearl books? If enough people say yes, I'll get some more to keep this thing going. Thank you for your help getting my book out there, and thank you for your generous spirit. #SaveSnuggles

Lucy says, "Let Snuggles come home." #SaveSnuggles #AmericasDog

Jinny Lu, meet Lucy Lu!

Here's another tease from my book #DesertPearl—the Prologue. It barely mentions Lucy, but it sets up the entire book, including the part about Snuggles at the end. @edayforcongress explains it perfectly. Hope you all like it. amazon.com/dp/B0HF31LGWK #SaveLucy #SaveSnuggles

They sure seemed insurmountable, but all things are possible with God. Just raw honesty here - I think he's still guiding me. He gave me this story - a lifeline - at a time when our finances are a wreck. I saw this at the coffee shop the other day, just before I published the book. I needed it.

Friends - while I was writing #DesertPearl, Charles Dickens was on my mind - not because I place myself in the same class of writer, but because I was working with urgency, racing to get the story out against a deadline and with little help from line editors, as he always did. It felt good to follow, in my own modest way, in the footsteps of the great authors of the past. Why the urgency? Because this book is not merely a recap of the #SaveLucy fight. It is part of that fight. I saw it as my way to help make Lucy untouchable for whatever time she has left. Together we made the idea of euthanizing her untenable for the county. That protection, however, was never guaranteed to last, and there are still people who have Lucy - and me - in their crosshairs. They may be less bold now, but they remain. That is why I felt I had to get this book out now. All that said, if you notice any typos or editorial issues while reading, please let me know so I can correct them. I believe the story has staying power, and I would like to address any problems while it is still being read by people I think of as friends. The more people who read this book, the safer I believe Lucy will be. amazon.com/Desert-Pearl-Figh… #AmericasDog #SaveSnuggles

Yeah, I got a chuckle out of that as well. This story was definitely a gift from God. I was feeling really discouraged (financially mostly) when I stopped for coffee yesterday, but this note was just what I needed to see in the cafe. God gave me this story to tell.

Amen brother.

Someone is happy to have raised almost $500 to help Snuggles family through the sales of our book, just today. Thank you 🙏 #DesertPearl #SaveSnuggles #AmericasDog #iLoveLucy @JenniferEvn22 @Herb_Minstrel

Can't go grey when they're already all white around the muzzle, but you are spot on. Time shapes them into something more wise, more golden.

Finally hit publish on #DesertPearl. I have no faith in myself, I'll be honest. I couldn't bring myself to actually do it, so I called my 11-year-old to come do it for me. The only way to know if it is good or bad is for you to read it. Meanwhile, here's Lulu.

There they go singing again. Just completely out of the blue.

Well, I'll be darned. Thanks, @grok. Full conversation: nitter.net/i/grok/share/dd4611bd8… This makes me feel pretty good about my forthcoming book, #DesertPearl. #SaveLucy #SaveSnuggles

Closing in. #DesertPearl should be out soon. I did this all myself. No supporting team of editors or artists. Just me and my love for that little mutt. Thanks @ReedsyHQ for professionally typesetting my manuscript for free! 🌟 reedsy.com/write-a-book #amwriting via @ReedsyHQ

Does it get any better than this? #SaveSnuggles - His family has missed feeling the warmth of his weight for far too long already. #AmericasDog

Tank says hi. He also says, #SaveSnuggles.

You deserve this rest, sweet girl.

Für dich.