Thanks to Nikki, the black lab from San Diego, for sending this to us.

INNER PEACE

If you can start the day without caffeine,
If you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,
If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,
If you can eat the same food everyday and be grateful for it,
If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,
If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,
If you can conquer tension without medical help,
If you can relax without alcohol,
If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,

You are probably the family dog.

Thanks, Nikki! If you know who created this photo, please let us know!

Thank you Dan Piraro, for this great cartoon. So true!

Our friends at Nashville Paw are planning a festive Barktoberfest celebration.

If you’re in their Tennessee neighborhood, check it out!

We’re especially excited, and flattered,  because they’re going to use The Original Dog Tarot at their fortune-telling booth.

Thanks, Nashville Paw.

Paws in the air for your tremendous spay/neuter and rescue efforts, for all you do.

And our gratitude to organizations everywhere trying to build a better life for the animals we love so much. A few of our favorites are on our links page.

Who are your favorites?

Thanks to Janet and Diane for sending pictures with their comments.  Tillie is thrilled.

Here’s Janet’s Lily as a glamorous Halloween witch.

“I predict Lily will fulfill her dream to be a squirrel this Halloween season,” says Nostradogus, “though she might have to invoke her considerable  magical powers to balance two tails.”

And here’s Diane’s beautiful Django. With her bejeweled tag and gorgeous coat, who needs a costume for adornment?

“I’m with Django,” says Bosco. “Simple is beautiful.”

“You’d better write to those nice people,” Bosco said this morning, “and tell them what the online community is going to be about. You didn’t mention that in your post.”

He’s right, as usual.

We’ll want to hear about issues that are on your mind, and we’ll be asking your opinion on all things dog. NOSTRADOGUS, the Magician of The Original Dog Tarot, will have a lot to say, too, in his Nostradogus Tells It Like It Is posts. We’re also hoping for some words of woof and wisdom from your cherished canines.

“Every dog has opinions,” Nostradogus once said, “it’s just that humans aren’t good interpreters.”

So when you have a minute – when you can take a little break from your dog walks, brushing, feeding, petting, picking out new shiny collars ( you know you’re thinking about that)  come and join us. We’ll be here, vacuuming gigantic chunks of dog hair from the couch, and swearing never to buy a black sweater again.

Back soon.

Hello dog lovers! Welcome to Nostradogus’ blog and The Original Dog Tarot community. I wrote The Original Dog Tarot: Your Key To Divine the Canine Mind because I love dogs more than anything, and was looking for a fun new way to understand what was going on inside that mysterious doggie brain. Why did the dogs bark at people wearing pink hats, but not yellow? Why did they growl and wag their tails at the same time? I figured since logic and reason had failed me, I’d try to conjure up a little magic. Sure, the DT is kind of tongue-in-cheek. It isn’t tarot in the traditional sense; not at all.  But you never know where you’re going to find a little bit of truth about your dog’s deepest heart — or your own.

Happily, the wonderful people at Potter Style/Random House liked this crazy idea. So on October 16, the DT  goes on sale in bookstores, gift shops, and online. You can Pre-Order » if you like. I hope you’ll have as much fun using the DT as I did writing it. My wonderful dogs, Bosco and Tillie, give it two paws up. So that’s a total of four paws up – not too bad. Trust me, if they didn’t like it, two sets of big, brown, beautiful-but-demanding dog eyes would haunt me until I fixed it.

“You’re talking about my species, ” I thought I heard Bosco say one day while I was writing. “Do you think you know enough to get it right?”

The pressure was on.

We’ll post again soon, as we  build our online community. We hope you’ll be part of it.  Get in touch » any time through the website, or email us »  at thedogtarot@gmail.com. For now, big woofs to all.  Welcome to our magical world.