Zoey & Taylor
Zoey and Taylor are my dogs, and a lot of what ends up on this site runs through them first.
I've always wanted my dogs to feel like they won the human lottery when they got me. I work hard to give them a life that actually fits who they are. That usually involves a whole lot of walks, playing more than napping, and endless belly rubs.
More importantly, I pay attention to who they are as individuals. Dogs don’t get to explain themselves with words. They don’t say things like “I’m a little shy and need my own space” (Taylor), or “I like food, and if we’re not eating, we should absolutely be playing” (Zoey). You have to notice patterns, preferences, and limits over time and adjust how you show up for them. Taylor is 15 and she's had her own bedroom her entire adult life. A nice full size bed, sheets, and blankets arranged and fluffed daily by me. Every now and then I'll leave a treat on her pillow for her to discover when she goes to bed.
That way of paying attention isn’t limited to dogs. It’s how I move through life.
When I ran a social services agency working with adults with developmental disabilities, some of the people I supported couldn’t communicate much verbally. Some had been in the system for so long that their individuality had been flattened into a file and a diagnosis. I made it a point to slow down and figure out who they actually were.
In one case, that meant helping a sixty-year-old woman uncover her real self. Someone who loved gossip, wanted to feel sophisticated, glamorous and had no interest in being treated like a generic “client.” Her life ended up including daily breakfasts at the diner, wearing a leopard-print fur jacket with matching purse, and spending the mornings gossiping with the regulars. It fit her. That mattered.
This site works the same way. NerdKnowsBetter is a mirror of my actual life. If something has worked for me, with my dogs, my routines, my habits, or my environment, I write about it here so it might work for someone else too.
**When I figure out how to add a second picture, you’ll also see Taylor, a happy black dog whose defining trait in the moment would be deeply annoyed and jealous that Zoey is currently featured and she is not.