what former chatelaine editor rona maynard learned from her rescue dog

as editor for a decade of one of canada’s most enduring magazines, chatelaine , followed by a busy second act as freelance writer, author and speaker, rona maynard had precious little time to stop and smell the roses — proverbial or palpable. until she got a dog.

her husband of 52 years, paul jones, former vp at rogers publishing, had always wanted a four-legged fur ball, and talked her into adopting casey, a rescue from rural ohio. the mixed mutt came into her life at a time when, at 65, maynard was pondering her place in the world. she had struggled with, and overcome, mental health issues; she was an in-demand speaker; her memoir, my mother’s daughter , was widely acclaimed; and she regularly travelled the globe. she worried a dog would cramp her style and tie her down. she wondered who would get stuck walking him. and she simply couldn’t abide fur on the furniture.

but when casey bounded through the door of their toronto home seven years ago, maynard saw the world — and herself — in surprising new ways. she shared the highlights with healthing, which she writes about in her latest book, starter dog: my path to joy, belonging and loving this world , due out april 18.

great title, starter dog. 

rona maynard’s book, starter dog: my path to joy, belonging and loving this world, is due out april 18.  supplied

instead it was a book about a dog. how did it take shape?

how did casey change your perspective of your life?

rona maynard writes in her book how she grew in the company of the dog, what she discovered and how the “problem of her life” was solved. supplied

you quit your job at chatelaine at the height of its — and your — success in 2004. why, and why then?

was it jarring to go from such a rarefied position in publishing to being a regular person on the street?

it was. emily dickinson has a famous poem , i’m nobody! who are you? i became — and this is not an uncommon term — a formerly important person, an fip. it did feel a little odd. there were wonderful things about it because i had time to see friends, go for walks with my pal diane. but i didn’t have a place in the world that was mine and i had not yet learned that you make yourself in the world. you make wherever you happen to be a special place. and you do that with the quality of your attention to where you are and what you see and who you meet. casey was very much a part of that because a dog is so much more than a canine animal. a dog is everywhere you go together and every creature you meet along the way, and the human you become with your canine.