Love, Life and Puppy Dog Tales

After our training, Hazer and Kaeden asked to be able to post today. And since it helps me procrastinate vacuuming, I agreed. From Hazer: Today was SO exciting!!! It was nice and cool and I got to go FIND PEOPLE. I got to run through the forest anywhere my nose took me and it was great! I even solved a small puzzle on my own. I found this downed tree that had so much smell of PEOPLE that I was just sure that someone had to be there, but alas, there was no one. I thought it smelled familiar so I came back to the group that had come out to watch and checked them all out and sure enough the smell at that tree belonged to one of the people that was with us. That puzzle solved, I moved on to FIND PEOPLE. (Trish's note: one of the observers with my group had been hidden in that tree for another dog handler earlier that morning. Hazer was compelled figure that out before we moved on. It was quite cool to watch) . As I moved on into a more open area, I CAUGHT SCENT, and it was ...

I had a dream the other night that I was trying to sleep. I think that means that I was really tired! Some days I am really struggling with getting old. I worry what will happen to my wife and I when we are old and have no children to help us during that time of our life. I think I am worrying about this because my denial of my mother getting old is no longer feasible. She is in need of help, but not willing to accept much of it. She knows things are changing fast for her now and I suspect she is feeling a bit like she is in a whirpool and can't get out. The more you do, the more you can do, but if you don't do, you can't do. As her mind becomes less and less sharp, it will become less and less sharp. As her body becomes less and less able, it will become less and less able. I can't imagine a day when, if I were to find myself on the floor, I couldn't get myself up. Yet she is there. For what was once such a strong woman to face helplessness, I don'...

http://www.nbc5i.com/news/14809029/detail.html Cody McCasland is a six year old profile in courage. Six years old, double amputee and participating in marathons. Wow. I aspire to that kind of courage. The kind of courage that knows no fear and steps bravely forward toward the next thing that life brings. It's the kind of courage that doesn't believe in failure as an option. Is that kind of courage only borne out of extreme circumstances, such as losing your legs, or is it a way of life that can be learned and achieved through diligent work? I believe I have done courageous things. I have completed a marathon. I have helped to rescue multiple animals from a burning building. I have stood before groups of people and spoken. I have intervened in an altercation, saving a woman from being drug down the street hanging from the door of her boyfriend's car. Does that make me a courageous woman? Or simply a person capable of courageous acts when the opportunity presents it...

There are few things in life you can count on, but I am grateful for the happy things in life you can count on. My animals are often a great source of entertainment, if not outright laughs! This is Splash. No, he is not sick. He is asleep. Very asleep. So asleep I could leave the room, get my wife and show her, leave the room again and get the camera and take not one but 4 pictures of him sleeping like this. Now that is some serious sleeping!! We have often called him our "special" kitty. As an example, he came to us with the name Flash.... then he fell in the toilet... He has had a bit of a rough life. I had the privilege of meeting him while he was in a coma after a traumatic incident we'll never know the details of. He had to have his tail amputated and he was blind for a bit afterwards, but regained his sight and fairly well turned into a normal cat, if you can call a cat who wrestles, lovingly, with a border collie normal. He was run over once as well, s...

Last night, I crawled into bed, exhausted and looking forward to a refreshing sleep. Recently, with my permission, Kaeden has occasionally been sharing the bed with me. We have a deal that if the cats haven't already made themselves at home in the bed, then he may share the space with me. He is so funny because he will put his paws up to check the bed before actually coming up on the bed. I truly think he is checking to see if the bed is clear! He wants nothing more than to snuggle up as close as possible to me. It is reassuring to feel him near by. He is connected to me in some deep, innate way that I have no explanation for, nor do I have a need for an explanation... I just enjoy it. He spends the majority of his time actively searching for and finding the joy in life. An attitude I am looking to adopt. So as we move into another year, I hope to find that joy in the same manner Kaeden does. And, frankly, I hope YOU find that joy too! It looks like it feels pretty good!