The Original Dog Tarot by Heidi Schulman
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The Original Dog Tarot | First in The Original Pet Tarot Series

Nostradogus™  Blog

Heidi
MESMERIZING PHOTOS HELP SHELTER PETS FIND HOMES

Posted on: March 12th, 2014 by Heidi No Comments

Who can resist this unearthly, fantastical image?

surreal-photoshop-images-shelter-animals-sarolta-ban-1

 

Amazing Hungarian Photographer Sarolta Ban has taken remarkable photos with a heartfelt purpose: to help shelter pets find homes. Beautiful, moving, touches the heart so deeply. Thank you Sarolta.

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Heidi
FANTASTIC ADORABLE DOG PIX!

Posted on: March 11th, 2014 by Heidi No Comments

Lick! You’re on Candid Dog Camera.

You’ll love, love, love these pictures (click on link above).

 

 

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Heidi
WHO’S MORE ADORABLE? A PUPPY OR A GROWING DOG?

Posted on: February 21st, 2014 by Heidi 1 Comment

ggkhkMC

You decide.  I love them all. Check out the pictures, thanks to the people at Bored Panda.

Tillie says: “Don’t forget the humans. I think they’re cute, too.”

Not as cute as you, Til.

 

 

 

Most Recent Comment

  1. Julie Harvley says:

    I don’t think I can choose, they are ALL adorable!!

Heidi
HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY

Posted on: February 14th, 2014 by Heidi No Comments

Dear Dogs of the World:

While your humans are smelling the roses, take a minute to smell the carpet.

Love,

Tillie Marie

photo

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Heidi
WHO WILL SAVE THE DOGS OF THE SOCHI OLYMPICS?

Posted on: February 10th, 2014 by Heidi 2 Comments

The fate of the stray dogs  roaming near the Sochi Olympics is horrifying. They’ve been threatened with “extermination” — and the situation serves to illuminate the bizarre contrast between games that celebrate human achievement and the potential for cooperation with the real world conditions of many of the people and animals who live near the Olympic site. How can we hold these two disparate things in our hearts at the same time?  Tillie and I watched the Olympic coverage  which, at one point, broadcast the beautiful song  Nothing More, by Alternate Routes. We were so moved by the lyrics:

“We are love, we are one, we are how we treat each other when the day is done.”

Still, how could we listen to this song — when dogs were threatened with “extermination” because they were an embarrassment to the public relations face of the games? Is that how we treat the dogs when the day is done, and what does it say about us?

Now someone is trying frantically to save some of the poor souls.  Read the story. And, if you are able, please raise your voice.

Most Recent Comment

  1. John Stark says:

    The company that makes the poison that’s used to kill the dogs says it’s being done humanely. Jeeez.

Heidi
HOW TO KEEP PESKY DOG HAIR OFF THE FURNITURE

Posted on: February 7th, 2014 by Heidi 2 Comments

FURniture doesn’t have to mean FUR all over the furniture. These pet furniture designs are genius and so much fun!

furniture-design-for-pet-lovers-2-2

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I asked Nostradogus what he thought.

“I’m looking for your credit card,” he said.

 

Most Recent Comment

  1. Heidi says:

    Neil— I love your phrase “strangely good.” Sounds like a lot of beautiful mutts I know!

Heidi
HOW TO PICK A GREAT DECK OF TAROT CARDS

Posted on: February 6th, 2014 by Heidi No Comments

Nostradogus took me shopping the other day.

“You need a new set of Tarot cards,” he said.

I never argue with him. What’s the point? He always gets important information before I do.

We went to The Ark, our favorite bookstore in Santa Fe, where we live. They know Nostradogus there.

We browsed and browsed and browsed.  Soon I felt a friendly dog paw nudging me on the leg.

“Buy these,” Nostradogus insisted. It was a gorgeous deck — The Golden Tarot by Kat Black.

“Check out The Magician,” Nostradogus said. “Look at all the cool animals.”

Golden Tarot

“Maybe we should have put humans swirling around me,” Nostradogus said. “I would have liked that. It would have given people some clues about who’s got the upper hand in human/dog relationships.”

nostradogus2

 

I guess when you’re all-knowing, it’s hard to be humble. But he could try, don’t you think?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Heidi
One real reason we buy gifts for our dogs

Posted on: December 2nd, 2013 by Heidi 1 Comment

It was 11 degrees the other morning in Santa Fe and we’d had 8 and a half inches of snow if you trusted my guess about the amount accumulating around the pink plastic flamingo in the yard.  snowbirdSo I put on my wool tights, jeans, over-sized old boyfriend sweater, ginormous rubber boots, and zipped up my aging down alternative coat to get ready for a freezing dog park adventure with Tillie Marie. I didn’t really want to go out. Who would? But what choice did I have?  The dog stared at me with a “what’s up with that?” look  — you know the one –when I said “Tillie Marie, I love you but it’s 11 degrees and we’ll be miserable out there.” Okay. Maybe it was 12 degrees, but as smart as TIllie is, so far she hasn’t mastered reading numbers past 9. So off we went.photo2 The car door was frozen shut so I ran a heavy duty extension cord from my hair dryer to unfreeze it, and in we piled, driving over seriously icy roads to one of Tillie’s top-five happy-time destinations: the local dog park.

Fritz the Chihuahua was there, wearing a cozy tan fleece coat with a bright blue sweater underneath. Sparky Doodle was ready for anything, ever so handsome in his classy Pendleton, the choice of coat no surprise because his human, Gigi Mills, is a fantastic painter with a great fashion sense. sparky

Tillie was naked: black, brown, and white heeler-mix naked.

She barreled towards her friends and didn’t seem to notice she was coatless. But looking around at the festive canine coverings, I began to think I was a bad mother.

When we got home from the park, I called my vet.

“Does Tillie need a coat?” I asked.

“Are you planning on hiking the Appalachian Trail?” she said.

“Not today.”

“Pitching your tent at the Everest base camp?”

I got the message. Abundantly clear since my vet knows that I am the first person in my family who has ever walked across a street. The assessment was a relief. Who had the money for a dog coat anyway? My disposable income had been disposed of long ago.

Still, about two hours later, I started to get restless, like a border collie who can’t let go of the genetic drive to herd sheep. So I whisked Tillie into our now-unfrozen car and drove directly to one of our great local pet stores. They know me there because they carry The Original Dog Tarot.

“I’m looking for a coat for Tillie,” I said.

I couldn’t get over the idea of how cute Tillie would look in a coat. She might need it one day, when I took up sledding, or ice carving, or moved to Northern Canada.  So what if she didn’t exactly need one today?  How many toys does your grandchild need? Can Elena’s new baby really use a hand-knitted wool hat when she was born in August in southern Texas?

“Could we find something in pink?” I said to the saleswoman. I’d been hoping for a sweet fleece item, maybe with angel’s wings attached because that’s how I think of Tillie.

“That could be a little hard to find,” said the saleswoman.

We couldn’t find sweet and pink, so we went for sleek urban chic in a fantastic first-green-of-spring green.

“It fits her so well!” said the saleswoman.

The coat was warm. Sturdy. Fleece lined and waterproof. Machine washable on gentle cycle. Durable. Guaranteed.

“It will be perfect for long winter hikes,” the saleswoman said. “It even has reflective edging, so you’ll be able to see her in low light. You’ll have it for years if you don’t misplace it.”

Tillie made her cold-weather-fashion debut the next morning at the dog park. It was 21 degrees and sunny when we arrived, and she bolted out of the car, barreling into the snow. The reflective edges really did show, just as the saleswoman promised.  Tillie wiggled like she always does, and was rolling around on her coat-covered back when we ran into one of the dog park regulars with her pack in tow.

Tilincoat

“Tillie doesn’t look like she’s enjoying that coat very much,” the woman said, petting my dog, keeping her from playing.

Opinions. Welcome to my world.

“She seems fine to me,” I said, as Tillie ran off to do a double-flip and run around in circles. “If she objected, she’d try to take it off; believe me.”

“I don’t think she needs it,” the woman continued. “She has an undercoat, and dogs with undercoats don’t really require extra protection.”

Some people just don’t get the poetry in life. This coat wasn’t necessarily about physical warmth (though if Tillie got to stay out as long as she’d like, it could very well have turned  into that).  Whether Tillie needed the coat or not, I needed to give it to her.  The coat was about love, about  giving, about how wonderful it feels to do something, anything, for a creature that has opened your heart and loves you every day, and depends on you. Did your guests need a third helping of pie on Thanksgiving? Probably not. But as they groaned they were too full to get up from the table, you felt like a wonderful hostess.  You know it’s true.

Giving Tillie the coat made me feel like a worthwhile loving human. Some things are all about the gesture.

Possibly you’re thinking Tillie would have preferred some special bones and treats.  That’s entirely possible.

Not to worry. I got her some of those, too.

 

 

 

 

Most Recent Comment

  1. A lot of things are about the gesture, and who knows? Just because Tillie didn’t groan in ecstasy over it — or really pay much attention — I have to believe that the animals who live with us know our intentions. And, that means she, Tillie of all animals, would know when she is being loved and cared for. Huge.

    I give my grandkids stuff they don’t need, and only occasionally stuff they need. Okay, maybe it’s selfish, but it makes me feel good to give a gift that is not necessary. (Undercoat or not.)

    With love to all of our clothed and naked dogs. And by the way, my dog gives me stuff too. His hair is all over the house, so I figure he is giving us free insulation.

Heidi
THE ORIGINAL DOG TAROT(TM): Divine the Canine Mind — NOW AVAILABLE FOR SPECIALTY PET RETAILERS

Posted on: September 18th, 2013 by Heidi No Comments

nostradogus2THE ORIGINAL DOG TAROT™: DIVINE THE CANINE MIND, an entertaining, colorful tongue-in-muzzle game of fortune-telling cards and booklet written for dog lovers, is being made available directly to specialty pet retail shops for the first time thanks to special arrangements with publisher Random House/Potter Style.

Having sold successfully in book stores and gift shops for the last 10 months, these hot-selling, beautifully illustrated cards were never officially marketed to pet retailers — until now!

“We realized we were missing out on a great opportunity to get the deck into the hands of the people who would value it most — pet owners,” said Heidi Schulman, creator and author.

The 30 cards and accompanying booklet are a light-hearted take-off on traditional tarot but with a decidedly canine twist that includes cards such as “The Hydrant” and “The Kibble” as well as the all-knowing magician, Nostradogus. Each card offers advice for both canines and the humans in their lives.

Dog lovers don’t have to know anything about traditional tarot to enjoy the canine enlightenment they’ll get using the beautifully boxed set. It’s a simple fun way for owners and their friends to have a great time and find out what their dogs think about life – and about them!

“THE ORIGINAL DOG TAROT™: Divine the Canine Mind” is now available to qualified pet retailers and distributors at the website, http://www.thedogtarot.com/wholesale/.

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Heidi
SCIENCE AND THE DOG TAROT

Posted on: August 22nd, 2013 by Heidi 1 Comment

Chloe Atwater is an archaeologist who’s doing a research project in sociology at the prestigious Santa Fe Institute. One night, while burning the midnight oil , she took a break to do a dog tarot reading for her adorable pooch Wally. How cute is this boy?

Wally2photo

Wally’s a rescue — a 10 month old dachshund mix Chloe adopted about 6 months ago.  Since he showed up in a box outside the Merced, California SPCA without a story, Chloe asked the Original Dog Tarot where Wally came from and who he is, deep down in his doggie heart.

She chose a 5-card reading and drew:  The Wanderer, 7 of Bowls, 3 of Bowls, The Moon and the Auricle.

Here’s Chloe’s interpretation.

“Since I asked where he came from, the wandering at the Foundation of the reading made sense. He also has that doxie tendency to be insanely stubborn and at the same time incredibly clingy as soon as I start to wander myself. The Bowls told me Wally has a happy and fulfilling home with me. The Moon told me he’d been longing for an exciting life before and now he definitely has it. He comes to work with me every day, goes to the dog park most days and gets hikes pretty much every weekend. The Auricle told me Wally has transitioned from his unknown past and is now my wise protector dog. He clearly thinks that’s what he is. ”

Nostradogus agrees completely with your interpretation, Chloe, and wishes you and Wally every happiness together.

 

 

 

 

 

Most Recent Comment

  1. G-Man's Mom says:

    We have met Wally at the dog park and he is even cuter in “person”. Ketzel was particularly taken with him!