For 15 years I had the privilege of living with a very special dog. She passed away late last year and while I still miss her, I have enough distance from the loss to be able to smile most of the time when I think about her.

In the last several years of her life I wrote stories that highlighted our relationship. Some were from her point of view but most were dialogue between the two of us. As her life came closer to an end, the stories became more serious and focused on the issues of caring for, living with and loving an old dog when the inevitable end is staring you in the face.

I know that many of you followed along as I posted our stories on Facebook. A few were posted here as well, including Molecular Distribution and I Was Wrong about Molecular Distribution; two of the my most read blog posts of all time on this site.

I am in the process of assembling her stories into a novel. While that project will take some time,  in the meantime I’d like to invite you to follow along with Raika on her Facebook page, “Conversations with Raika.”

On that page I post the occasional story, discuss the process of creating her book, and share in the joys and struggles that many of us know very well as we reach the end of our dog’s life.

If you are interested in following along as Raika’s life life story becomes a book, or if you know others who might benefit from reading about this process, feel free to like her page on Facebook. Here is a direct link:

https://www.facebook.com/raikafenzi/