Search Results for: blog i am so thankful for all of the animal lovers out there

Pet Blessings and Ministries Spreading

Every year the county rescue for which I volunteer holds an Animal Fair. It’s a day in May down at the county fairgrounds where one can bring one’s pets on a leash (so mostly dogs, but you do see the rare cat or two) and partake in fun events to raise money for the rescue. There’s a parade, an owner/dog partnered pie-eating contest, demonstrations by the local K9 police force, and more. And there’s one thing that I’d never heard before: the blessing of the pets. I live in a very Catholic area; it’s the part of Maryland that was … Continue reading →

Thanksgiving Themed Family Getaways

Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away; do you know where you’ll be gobbling up turkey this year? More importantly, what fun family activities do you have planned for the long holiday weekend besides stuffing your face? A few million Thanksgiving diners will be heading out to the streets of New York prior to chowing down on turkey and all the trimmings. The massive crowds are just part of the biggest Turkey Day event in the country—-Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. At 9 a.m. sharp on November 27th, more than 10,000 Macy employees and volunteers will gather at 77th and Central … Continue reading →

Why It’s Wrong To Be Left Like a Dog for Dead

Have you seen the video footage of the hit and run that happened in Hartford, Connecticut? A 78-year-old man was crossing the street, got hit by a car, spirals in an awful display of flying legs and arms to the ground, and the car speeds away. That’s bad enough. But other cars kept going past. People walked by. Some stopped and looked but no one rushed to his aid. It’s not until a police cruiser that’s just happening to go by on his way to another call stopped that the man got help. I saw the story as I ate … Continue reading →

Operation Baghdad Pups: No Buddies Left Behind

I had meant to write about this last week to compliment the article I’d done on no cost ways to donate to the ASPCA. However, the unexpected babysitting duties sort of threw my schedule all off kilter last week. However, even though I had planned to write about it, I knew I had to get on it when my dear friend Sandra Worth sent me an email with a link to her site about a cause she’d just become aware of: the SPCA International’s Operation Baghdad Pups. I think the reason it captured her interest was for the same reason … Continue reading →

The Strays of Our Lives

I love stories about strays. Why? Because there’s usually a deeper story there. One that proves strays are not just strays, but the strays of our lives who’ve come into them in different forms and for different reasons. Kindred Spirits Have you ever looked into a dog or cat’s eyes and without speaking, touching, or sharing anymore time together than those initial first moments, you knew them? You read their soul, they read yours –instantly. That’s a kindred pet spirit connection. Wayne had that with Budly. I loved that little Cocker with my heart and soul but truly him and … Continue reading →

15 Things My Pets Make Me Thankful For

Happy Thanksgiving! This is my favorite day of the year. As I explained in I Am So Thankful for All of the Animal Lovers Out There, I was given a precious gift back in 1999: Sarah Ban Breathnach’s Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy. It was that book that introduced me to the power of gratitude and to keeping track of it in a gratitude journal, which was an act that revolutionized my life. I don’t always write in my gratitude journal every day, it’s more like a weekly journal, but today is the one day of the … Continue reading →

How the Oil Spill Will Affect Your Trip to San Francisco

Nothing says welcome to the beach more than a bunch of huge white signs that tell you to stay out of the water—NOT. Yet, that’s exactly what tens of thousands of visitors to San Francisco have been greeted with the past few days. The signs went up shortly after a cargo ship struck the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, and dumped 58,000 gallons of oil in San Francisco Bay. The spill—-the largest of its kind in nearly two decades—-happened last week and since then business owners have been scrambling to assure out-of-town visitors that the City by the Bay is still … Continue reading →

Hunters Aren’t Evil and Other Things Researching Charities Taught Me

I have so many things to be grateful for that it makes me want to open my heart and wallet a little wider, especially at this time of year. However, I also want to be smart in my giving and make sure my donations are being well utilized. That’s why I spent some time researching animal rights, welfare, and service organizations, wildlife conservation organizations, and zoos and aquariums to see which ones used their monies most efficiently and effectively. Thanks to sites like Charity Navigator and the American Institute of Philanthropy I was able to accomplish my goal. But I … Continue reading →

The Pets Blog Week in Review for November 5-11

What did Aimee and I write about during the first full week of November? If you missed a day, check out this installment of the Pets Blog Week in Review. Monday, November 5 Paying Attention When Pets Act Weird Murph was barking like crazy, the cats were acting wary…it was very suspicious behavior, which I try to pay attention to. In this case the animals tipped me off to the cops at the across-the-street neighbor’s house. Out on a Limp Aimee noticed some odd behavior with one of her dogs too. Moose developed a limp during their walks, one that … Continue reading →

I Am So Thankful for All of the Animal Lovers Out There

Appropriately enough, November, the month that harbors Thanksgiving, is “I Am So Thankful Month.” I’m a big believer in the power of gratitude. I didn’t always used to be that way though. What I Used to Think of Thanksgiving Once upon a time I thought Thanksgiving was the absolute most boring holiday imaginable. So what if the Pilgrims and Indians came together and had a feast? Big deal. What did that matter in our modern world? In my eyes, the only redeemable quality about the Thanksgiving holiday was the four-day weekend. What Thanksgiving Means to Me Now But in 1999, … Continue reading →