Doggone Healthy Choices with Pam and Freedom

Welcome to Doggone Healthy Choices Doggone Healthy Choices Logo A healthier, happier life with your dog can begin with something small: a walk around the block, a new game, a quiet moment together, or the decision to try again tomorrow. I’m Pam, and my dog Freedom is usually right beside me. Together, we’re exploring what it means to care for our health while making the most of the time we share with our dogs—one foot, one paw at a time. Freedom and I stop to say Hello Some days that looks...

Hi,Reader! I’m Pam, and this is Freedom. We’re glad you’re here. Pamela and Freedom stopping to say Hello! Doggone Healthy Choices grew from a simple belief: life can be healthier and happier when we move through it alongside our dogs—one foot, one paw at a time. Doggone Healthy Choices Logo Maybe you and your dog love a long walk. Maybe you’re learning a new cue together, trying a gentle stretch, or just figuring out how to make room for a little more joy in an ordinary day. Wherever you’re...

More Than a Song: Harry Chapin’s Legacy Is Still Feeding Long Island “CATS IN THE CRADLE IN THE SILLY SPOON LITTLE BY BLUE WHEN THE MEN IN THE MOON WHEN YOU COMING HOME DAD I DON'T KNOW WHEN…”- Harry Chapin One man’s music became a mission — and 46 years later, that mission is still helping our Long Island neighbors, veterans, families and even their pets. There are some songs that you hear. And then there are songs that stay with you. Harry Chapin’s Cat’s in the Cradle is one of those songs....

One Foot, One Paw, One Mission: Step Up for the Paws for Freedom 5K Some races are about a finishing time. Some are about a medal. And some are about who you are running for. On Saturday, October 24, the Paws for Freedom 5K Run & Walk will bring runners, walkers, veterans, first responders, families and supporters together on Long Island to raise money and awareness for the work of Paws of War. And this one hit very close to home for me — in more ways than one. I’m a U.S. Army veteran. I’m...

Tuesday, September 22, is Veterans Suicide Awareness and Remembrance Day here in New York. Photo by Mark Serafino on Unsplash And today, I want to do more than simply acknowledge it. On June 2, 2026, the New York State Assembly adopted Resolution K1553, memorializing the governor to proclaim September 22, 2026, Veterans Suicide Awareness and Remembrance Day in New York. The resolution recognizes the life and death of Senior Airman Robert McRae Dean, along with every veteran and active-duty...

What Our Dogs Can Teach Us About Yoga Have you ever looked at your dog stretching in the morning and thought: Wait a minute. I know that pose. There’s a reason yoga is filled with names from the animal world—Downward-Facing Dog, Upward-Facing Dog, Cat, Cobra, Eagle, Dolphin and many more. Animals stretch, balance, lengthen, curl, reach and move their bodies naturally. And sometimes all we must do is stop and watch. So today, let’s have a little fun with Doga—yoga alongside our dogs. And no,...

🐾 SUNDAY MORNING WITH FREE A Doggone Healthy Choices Sunday Edition Sunday, September 20, 2026, • People, Paws, Health & a Little Sunday Nonsense GOOD WALKS • HAPPY PEOPLE • HAPPY DOGS • BRIGHTER DAYS Sunday Mornings Are Better With Dogs There’s something different about Sunday morning. Maybe it’s that we don’t have to rush quite as much. Maybe it’s the extra cup of coffee. Maybe it’s staying under the covers five minutes longer. Or maybe it’s the dog beside us who has absolutely no idea what...

Service Dogs: The Training, the Goodbye, and the Communication We Owe Them Skyler and I went everywhere together- she helped me lead my life happier together! Recently, another dog-focused creator ended one of her posts with a P.S. that immediately caught my attention. She had been contacted by an organization that raises and trains future service dogs and was considering becoming a puppy raiser. Then she asked her readers: What do you think? My immediate thought was: I think it’s a wonderful...

We the People… and the Dogs 🐾 A Constitution for Both Ends of the Leash Yesterday was Constitution Day. And while looking into it, I realized something I somehow hadn’t thought much about before: Constitution Day isn’t the end of the celebration. It’s the beginning of Constitution Week. Constitution Week runs September 17 through September 23, giving us a little more time to remember the document signed in Philadelphia in 1787 and the people who helped create it. Naturally, my brain...

Walk. Run. Pull. 10 Steps From Walking With Your Dog to Canicross My pack and I out on a Run in walk mode! Walking with your dog can be the beginning of something much bigger. Maybe you simply want better walks together. Maybe you’d like to start jogging. Maybe you’re thinking about running a 5K with your dog. Or maybe you’ve watched a dog running out front of a person, pulling into a harness, and wondered about trying canicross. These activities can build on one another, but they aren’t...