Lisa Cohn's Blog

After the shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville, more than 40 dogs have been taken in by families at Covenant, a small Christian school of about 120, according to an article in the New York Times.

The story features two siblings who lived through the shooting and created a PowerPoint presentation for their parents explaining how a dog could help them avoid PTSD, improve their mental health and boost their happiness.

Dogs do indeed provide kids with many mental health benefits, said Tommy Wilde, an animal expert and founder of Floofmania.com, an online publication about North American wildlife.

“Emotional support dogs don’t care who you are, what you look like, or if you’re smart, stupid, beautiful, ugly or if you’re able to correctly express yourself in English or any other language for that matter,” he said.

A child who needs emotional support might be intimidated or have preconceived ideas about what the adults around them might think or feel. But they’d never think that about a dog, one of the reasons kids feel comfortable getting emotional support from their canine companions, he said.

“In addition to that, a good emotional support dog will be an unconditional friend that provides love and attention no matter how you’re feeling,” Wilde said. “They easily identify our emotions and instinctively know how to respond to them in an extremely empathetic and uncomplicated way.”

What’s more, a dog’s familiar presence can help a kid feel less vulnerable in unfamiliar environments. The dog’s familiar smell, feel and sound can provide reassurance to a child, increasing their sense of security and reducing their stress and fear, said Paola Cuevas, a veterinarian and animal behaviorist with Petkeen.com.

We see these empathic dog traits in our golden retriever, Hudson. If anyone in our household raises their voice, cries or expresses any kind of negative emotion, he comes running.

He sits in front of whoever is upset, and looks into their eyes, as if curious about what’s causing the trouble. We like to say that when Hudson does this, he’s reporting for duty. He presses against the upset person and stays by their side.

There’s science behind the way dogs help kids with emotional challenges, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Petting a dog reduces the stress hormone cortisol, while the social interaction between people and their dogs actually increases levels of ocytocin, which is a feel-good hormone.

“In fact, an astonishing 84 percent of post-traumatic stress disorder patients paired with a service dog reported a significant reduction in symptoms, and 40 percent were able to decrease their medications, reported a recent survey,” said Johns Hopkins.

The siblings who created a PowerPoint presentation for their parents did a great job of studying up on the many emotional benefits of bonding with a dog!

The post How Dogs Help Kids with Trauma and Mental Health appeared first on Lisa and Michael Cohn.

By Lisa Cohn

I’m reading Dogs That Know When Their Owners are Coming Home, and I’m riveted by the stories and research about how humans and dogs communicate via telepathy.

In the book’s section about dogs, the author relates many stories from dog parents about how their dog knew they were coming home. In many cases, the dogs got excited 10 to 15 minutes–or longer–before their humans were close to home. The author insists that the dogs didn’t see, smell or hear their people returning. The humans didn’t follow any specific schedule returning home, so the dogs weren’t anticipating their return based on the time of day. The humans returned home via airplanes, trains, buses, cars and on foot.

To conduct his research, the author, Rupert Sheldrake, sent out requests for stories from dog parents, animal trainers and kennel proprietors and received nearly 1,000 responses.

The dogs’ behavior was reported by family members who were home. In a few cases, the author and the family members worked together to videotape the dogs’ behavior.

When their humans were getting off planes and trains, for example, the dogs got excited or started to wait by the window or door–long before the humans were close enough to smell, see or hear.

“I think that the evidence considered in this and the following chapter suggests that the invisible cord connecting dog to owner is elastic: it can stretch and contract. It connects dog and owner together when they are physically close to each other, and it continues to attach dog to owner even when they are hundreds of miles apart. Through this elastic connection, telepathic communication takes place,” said the author in one chapter.

Here’s an example:

“When Peter Edwards arrives home at his farm in Wickford, Essex, his Irish Setters are nearly always at the gate to greet him. Yvette, his wife, says they often wait for him for ten to twenty minutes before he arrives and well before he turns off the road into his drive. She had taken this behavior for granted for years, simply thinking, ‘Peter’s coming home, the dogs have gone to the gate.'”

Peter worked irregular hours and often didn’t let his wife know when he was returning. The dogs responded regardless of which way the wind was blowing, or what vehicle he was driving, the book says. After reading about the author’s research, Yvette realized that the dogs were likely telepathically picking up information from Peter.

The book gives many more examples, including examples about cats anticipating when their people are coming home.

Dog telepathy is a theme in our latest book, Bash and Lucy Say, “Love, Love, Bark!” Golden retriever Lucy solves the mystery of the missing dog books by reading the minds of potential thieves. That’s all I can say without giving too much away!

Please send your dog telepathy stories to BashAndLucy@gmail.com

And don’t forget to watch Hudson in our book trailer, filmed when Hudson, now 11, was a puppy!

The post Book About Dog Telepathy: Fascinating! appeared first on Lisa and Michael Cohn.

By Lisa Cohn

Hudson, our kids’ audiobook bark-over artist and a character in our last two Bash and Lucy books, just turned 11.

Eleven years ago, when we brought puppy Hudson into our home, we had just released our first Bash and Lucy book, Bash and Lucy Fetch Confidence.

Puppy Hudson was the star of our book trailer:

He appeared in a story in The Oregonian, Writing Through Grief

He even made an appearance on the Today Show: Critical Darling

And his deep bark was a favorite feature in our last kids’ audiobook, Bash and Lucy Fetch Team Vera and the Dream Beasts

He’ll provide bark-overs for our latest audiobook, which we’re working on right now!

At 11 years old, he walks two to five miles a day with me. He’s always the most popular pup in the park.

He’s getting a little creaky in the joints. We feed him raw food and herbs, and he sometimes gets spoiled with acupuncture, which he loves! And I’m learning how to give him massages.

We feel so fortunate to have this best friend in our lives.

Be sure to send us your dog stories!

The post Our Kids’ Audiobook Bark-Over Artist Turns 11! appeared first on Lisa and Michael Cohn.

We’re donating our Bash and Lucy books to classrooms, and then visiting the students via Zoom to discuss how we created the books.

If you’re interested in having us donate books and visit, email us at BashAndLucy@gmail.com.

The second graders in the photo above attend Jewett Elementary School in Central Point, Oregon. We’re excited that we’ll be meeting with them–and their teacher, Andrea Christmas–Wednesday via Zoom.

Recently we visited with 1st grade students in New Jersey via Zoom. We have visited this classroom every year for many years!

When we speak to classes, we begin our story with the death of our dear dog, Lucy, 10 years ago. To help overcome our grief, we decided to write a children’s book, Bash and Lucy Fetch Confidence, that stars Lucy as a golden retriever who helps boost the confidence of kids on a soccer team. We then explain that we have since written three additional books and produced three audiobooks. We’re working on our fourth audiobook now.

We ask the students to tell stories about their experiences using writing and art to overcome grief.

Next, we give some writing tips–the importance of conflict in stories, and ask kids to identify the conflict in the book we sent them.

We also talk about the importance of writing with strong verbs, and ask the students for examples.

In addition, we may cover how we create our audiobooks (with voice-overs by kids), the publishing process, how we work with our illustrator and our public relations efforts. We explain how we appeared on the Today Show. And we tell the kids about our fundraising efforts. When we sell our books, we often donate a portion of the sales–most recently, to the Ukrainian Foundation.

At this point the kids have lots of questions. They generally include:
–Michael, what’s it like being an author?
–How do you come up with ideas for your books?
–Can we see your new dog, Hudson?
–How do you two work together as authors?
–How do you make your words and illustrations into a book?
–What book or books is our bookworm, Michael, now reading?
–What are our favorite books?
–How do you decide who to raise funds for?

With some classes we brainstorm ideas for our next books This is really fun; the kids give us lots of great food for thought.

Here’s one of our first brainstorming sessions (Michael is five):

Again, if you’d like us to donate books to your school and visit, email us at BashAndLucy@gmail.com.

The post Donating our Bash and Lucy Books to Classrooms; Author Visits appeared first on Lisa and Michael Cohn.

We’re really excited about the voice-over artists who are [working hard on our kids’ audiobook for Bash and Lucy Say, “Love, Love, Bark!”

We reached out to the acting class at Michael’s school and a number of talented kids expressed excitement about being voice-over artists!

We’re really impressed by their efforts so far.

Since this book is the longest “Bash and Lucy” book we’ve written, it is taking some time to finish up the recording.

Soon we’ll be sharing excerpts from the audiobook. But for now, you can check out the audiobooks we’ve done in the past featuring kids’ voices.

They are (from first to last):
—Bash and Lucy Fetch Confidence, which includes voice-overs from co-author Michael, who was age 6 at the time, plus some 6-year-old and 8-year-old friends.

—Bash and Lucy Fetch Jealousy, with voice-overs from Michael, age 7 and friends, age 7-10.

—Bash and Lucy Fetch Team Vera and the Dream Beasts, which features the voices of Michael, age 10, along with Ally Cohn Merkel, Vera Moroz, Lukyan & Levko Terdal, Ronin & Samantha Reihl, Milo Horness and featuring the bark of Hudson!

You can also find the audiobooks on Audible.

Check out Bash and Lucy Say, “Love, Love, Bark!” on Amazon.

And don’t forget to watch our original book trailer, which features puppy Hudson (who is now 10) and Michael, age 5 (who is now 15).

The post Meet the Voice-Over Artists for Our Kids’ Audiobook! appeared first on Lisa and Michael Cohn.

By Lisa Cohn

Our golden retriever, Hudson, underwent surgery to remove some tumors in his testicles two weeks ago, and I’m happy to report that he sailed through the surgery and is back to chasing tennis balls and taking long walks in Forest Park.

Hudson, who is almost 11, showed his spunk after the surgery by complaining loudly when he had to stay in the veterinary hospital overnight. He’s used to sleeping at the foot of my bed or on his bed beside mine and doesn’t like to have his routine interrupted!

When he was restricted by the post-surgery collar he begged for his tennis balls, and I was happy to give them back about nine days after the surgery, when we removed the collar.

More good news: The tumors were benign.

Hudson appears as the good-natured golden retriever in our two latest Bash and Lucy books, Bash and Lucy Fetch Team Vera and the Dream Beasts, and Bash and Lucy Say, “Love, Love, Bark!”

He’s also a bark-over artist in our last audiobook. We’re now producing the final audiobook, for Bash and Lucy Say, “Love, Love, Bark!”

Puppy Hudson was the star of our book trailer, and romped with co-author Michael, who was five at the time. You can watch Hudson in action:

Hudson joined our family more than 10 years ago, after our dog, Lucy–the star of our book series–passed away at the age of six.

To help heal from that loss, Michael (age five at the time) and I started writing our Bash and Lucy book series.

You can learn more about how we decided to write through our grief in this story in the Oregonian.

You can find our audiobooks on Audible here, here and here. In addition to Hudson, the voice-over artists include a number of children.

The post Our Golden Retriever Sails Through Surgery appeared first on Lisa and Michael Cohn.

By Lisa Cohn

A few weeks ago, I had a nightmare about my dog, Hudson–who appears in our Bash and Lucy books as the most popular pup in the park.

I don’t even want to describe the nightmare. I don’t often remember my dreams, so this one stuck with me and worried me.

At his last vet visit, the doctor had asked me to check his testicles for lumps. Dogs above the age of 10 (Hudson is 10) who have not been neutered tend to develop cancer in their testicles. I checked them, and thought I felt a lump.

When I took him to our vet, she said he did indeed have some kind of tumor, and it was likely cancer.

I searched her face for some kind, any kind, of reassurance. With tears pouring down my cheeks, I told her he walks four to six miles a day with me. He’s always enthusiastic about going. outside, chasing tennis balls and gobbling up his food–raw food, which I give him to reduce inflammation and hot spots.

Didn’t that mean he was fine?

She gave me a stern look and didn’t respond. In her no-nonsense German accent, she said, “If it is contained in his testicles, we can remove them and he should be okay.”

But her look said, “Lisa. I can’t tell you what you want. to hear.”

When we started to leave the vet’s office, the technicians, as always, told Hudson they adored him.

At that moment, I vowed to love his cancer away. If he could tell me that he had cancer by warning me in my dreams, surely I could, by communicating my feelings to him, make his cancer go away.

I took him to a do-it-yourself dog grooming room at our pet store, washed him, brushed him and told him over and over that he’s a good boy, a pretty boy. “You can fight this,” I told him. “Please.”

Once home, we walked in Forest Park, his favorite place to chase his ball. He greeted other pups and attracted “he’s so beautiful” compliments from other hikers.

Then we got in bed and snuggled–another one of his favorite activities. I stroked him just the way he loves being petted, on his head, ears, chest and back.

Tomorrow, I take him to a surgeon for his pre-surgery appointment. I’ll learn more about his diagnosis and hopefully get an appointment for surgery as soon as possible.

In the meantime, I’m going to feed him apples, massage his chest and take snuggle breaks with him during my morning yoga. And over and over, I’ll ask him for a favor: Please let me love your cancer away.

The post I’m Loving My Dog’s Cancer Away appeared first on Lisa and Michael Cohn.

We hope you’ll take advantage of Amazon’s big sale of our latest kids’ dog book, Bash and Lucy Say, “Love, Love, Bark!”

At today’s price, we don’t make any money on the book. It’s a steal, especially if you have Amazon Prime and don’t have to pay for shipping. Buy it here.

Meanwhile, we’ve begun the process of producing an audiobook version of the book.We met last week with a group of enthusiastic voice-over artists from Michael’s school who range in age from seven to 16. We’ve assigned the larger roles, and will soon release the “cast.” Those artists will include two adults, an actress who will be reading the part of Ally (the mayor/dancer/librarian) and Vera, Michael’s surrogate grandmother from Ukraine, who will be reading her own lines.
Readers tell us they love hearing other kids’ voices in our audiobooks.

You can check out our first audiobook, which was recorded when Michael and our voice-over friends were age 5 to 8 or so: Bash and Lucy Fetch Confidence audiobook.

Here are some reviews of our latest Bash and Lucy kids’ dog book:

Charming and Delightful Book!

Bash and Lucy Say, “Love, Love, Bark!” is a heartwarming children’s book that is sure to delight both kids and adults alike. This is the fourth book in the series, and this time around, Vera takes center stage as the passionate assistant mayor who is determined to make the world a better place through her love for dogs.

The book not only teaches readers about the goodness of dogs but also sheds light on Ukrainian culture and history through Vera’s character. The Cohns’ dedication to Vera is evident in every page, as her spunky and resilient personality shines through in the story.

What’s even more commendable is that 100% of the proceeds from the book’s sales in April and May will be donated to the Ukrainian Foundation, making this book not only an enjoyable read but also a meaningful one.

Overall, Bash and Lucy Say, “Love, Love, Bark!” is a charming and uplifting story that encourages readers to embrace the goodness of dogs and the value of kindness. I highly recommend this book to parents, teachers, and anyone who wants to share an important message with children.

–Amazon

“Perfect for Young Readers who Love Mystery Stories”

The post Big Sale on Latest Bash and Lucy Kids’ Dog Book! appeared first on Lisa and Michael Cohn.

We’ve begun the process of producing out next children’s audiobook.

That means we’ve put out a call at Michael’s school for kids who are interested in being voice-over artists for Bash and Lucy Say, “Love, Love, Bark!”

We’re happy to say that we have lots of voice-over candidates!

When we created our last kids’ audiobook, Bash and Lucy Fetch Team Vera and the Dream Beasts (Audible), our voice-over artists included me (Lisa); Michael; my daughter, Ally; Michael’s surrogate grandmother, Vera;  Vera’s two grandsons (Michael’s friends), and three other friends of Michael. Plus, our dog, Hudson (pictured above), was an enthusiastic bark-over artist.

This time, we have added a few more characters to the book series, and Bash and Lucy Say, “Love, Love, Bark!” is much longer.

We’re going to try to gather all our artists (except Vera) at Michael’s school and record the audiobook from beginning to end, then add Vera’s voice later after recording at her  apartment. It’s likely Hudson’s voice will also be added later.

This will be a challenging task, and we’ll keep you updated as we go along. For now, we have to choose our artists and then try to get them all in one place.

Once we have the recording, it will be edited by our expert audio editor, Prash, then submitted to Audible.

If you’d like to listen to our last audiobook (for free), click here: Bash and Lucy Fetch Team Vera and the Dream Beats (soundcloud)

Meanwhile, you might want to take advantage of the very low price of our latest book on Amazon–$5.38. We originally set the price of the book pretty low so that as many kids as possible could have access to it. With Amazon’s discount, we don’t make any money, but want you to take advantage of the sale: Bash and Lucy Say, “Love, Love, Bark!” on Sale

Don’t forget to watch our original book trailer, featuring puppy Hudson and Michael, age 5:

Questions? Be sure to email us at BashAndLucy.com

The post How Do We Create Our Children’s Audiobooks? appeared first on Lisa and Michael Cohn.

Visiting Ukrainian Day in Portland offers a view into the creativity and culture of Ukrainians.

This year’s festival, on Saturday, followed the April release of our latest book, Bash and Lucy Say, “Love, Love, Bark!” whose main character, Ukrainian immigrant Vera, teaches readers about Ukrainian culture and helps the children in the book learn to get along better. Like many of the Ukrainians we met at the festival, Vera –modeled after Michael’s surrogate grandmother–is smart, resilient and determined to do good.

Colorful hand-made Ukrainian clothing was on display at the festival. Visitors could even stick their heads into cardboard cut outs featuring traditional Ukrainian garb.

Of course, many of the Ukrainians attending the event wore traditional clothing:

The photo above illustrates classic Ukrainian resilience. We like the ribbon hung around the young woman’s neck that says, “Be brave like Ukraine.”

On stage numerous Ukrainian bands played, drawing listeners in spite of the 90-degree heat.

But artists representing other countries also performed, showing their support of Ukraine. They included the Oregon Chinese Coalition (pictured above) and Polish dancers.,

In April and May, we donated the proceeds of our sales of Bash and Lucy Say, “Love, Love, Bark!” to the Ukrainian Foundation–and expect to run another fundraiser.

If you’re interested in learning a little about Ukraine through the character of Vera, you can buy our book on Amazon right now for nearly 50% off–at a cost of $6.86. Read reviews and check out the paperback here: Bash and Lucy Say, “Love, Love, Bark!”for $6.86.

And don’t forget to watch Michael, age 9, dedicate our last book to Vera!

The post Beautiful Art, Music and Clothing at Ukrainian Day in Portland appeared first on Lisa and Michael Cohn.