Posts by Karen Holman

Combativeness, anger, hostility, cruelty and a lack of empathy & compassion plague our society. This negativity has given me a purpose behind sharing a story of love, grit and a whole lot of luck. I know many of you have an emotional connection to animals and nature. E.O. Wilson describes Biophilia as the human attraction…

Aggression between familiar dogs in the same household is a common occurrence. It is the problem that leads to more surrendered, rehomed, and euthanized dogs than any other behavioral issue. Interdog aggression is often rooted in underlying anxiety or a lack of appropriate social skills in one or both dogs. It is important to look…

Why do dogs love, comfort, and even save people? Is there truly a human-animal bond? Dogs have been recognized in history as having an honored position alongside their human companions. In fact, recent studies have defined animals as beneficial to humans emotionally and psychologically. E. O. Wilson’s biophilia hypothesis stated that humans have an emotional…

Most of us remember the stories of Lassie saving Timmy from falling in the well or Toto barking at the tornado and the Wicked Witch warning Dorothy of danger in “The Wizard of Oz.” People love to hear a feel-good story about an animal saving someone. Is the need to rescue humans instinctive for dogs?…

When asked to write about shock collars, I hesitated, contemplating how many feathers I just might ruffle and thought, okay, I’m in. I don’t normally enjoy confrontations, but in this instance, I felt a sense of obligation to provide the truth behind shocking your dog. I have directly observed the pain, distress, and inhumane treatment…

Published by Oklahoma Horses Magazine Written by Casie Bazay Photo Credit to Derek Young Growing up in the countryside of the once small town of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, Karen Holman developed a deep fondness for animals, especially since her parents and grandparents were animal lovers too. As a child, Holman, along with her two sisters,…

Growing up in rural Broken Arrow, Fourth of July celebrations were full of life lessons and lasting memories. I not only learned from my mother how to prepare a meal for fifty people with love and joy, my father also instilled in me the hard work and dedication necessary to accomplish anything worthwhile. But things…

I am an animal lover, a dog person, a “dog is not just a dog” kind of gal, but I am also a scientist. I diligently work to not anthropomorphize my animals. After all, they are not human, having only the thoughts of their species. When we anthropomorphize animals, we are attributing to them feelings,…

As the holidays approach, our own childhood Christmas memories, no matter how old we are or far away from home we may have roamed, there is a small part of us that longs to return to those happy days we spent in Broken Arrow. This story, full of life lessons, is a Christmas memory shared…