Wise Yellow Dog Predicts Spring Soon. Come See.

IMG_1980 1200Later yesterday afternoon, as we often do on the weekends, John and I sat in front of our woodstove. Kylie resting on the sofa next to John and Gidget curled up next to me sitting across from them.

We, like many of you, are anxious for spring. We wonder if it will ever get here. The anticipation has really been building and especially after a pretty brutal winter. It has just made it all that more challenging to not want to shout each day, “Hurray up and get here spring!”

As we sat gazing into the fire burning in the woodstove last night, John glanced over at Kylie. “Spring is almost here, Kylie. I’ll bet you can’t wait to smell all the smells of spring. It will get here. Just you wait and see.”

Her head perched on the yellow pillow, yellow dog truly has no worries if spring will arrive. She just knows. That is what dogs do. They teach us to just be in the moment. To trust. To have faith.

If Kylie could talk I’d think she’d say:

But papa, it is already here in many ways.

Can’t you feel it in the warm sun on your skin?

Can’t you see it in the light? It is brighter and longer now in the sky.

Can’t you hear it in the chirping of the birds every morning? They too say, it is on its way!

And the smells! oh the smells!  Haven’t you been watching as my nose is to the ground every morning and evening? Oh, the delicious smells!

I know you know it is here as I linger longer outside each evening and my ears do not seem to be working again when you call me to come in.

So you see, it is here. I’m your reminder to see what you sometimes cannot see. I promise you, spring is already here, and will continue to be here if you just listen and pay attention to wise yellow dog.

Today I Met a Sister I Never Knew I Had!

lisa barb collageOk, so Lisa Smith-Putnam, Host & Executive Producer of Your Pets, My Dogs  radio show,and I, aren’t really sisters. But we had this wonderful connection and we both agreed that we thought we looked somewhat alike in our photos, though obviously our skin color is a wee bit different.

We had a good chuckle over this on one of the breaks and I felt like I was talking with a very good friend.  I’ve done quite a few radio interviews, but I just have to say this was one of my favorite to date!

Many interviews I’ve done, have of course, been around Frankie, but such a lovely change of pace when Lisa’s first question to me was, “So who is Barbara Techel?”

I smiled and thought about how years ago I would have been terrified of this question. But I’m finally at a point in my life that I like living in my own skin. I can’t share what I all said and give it away, so you’ll just have to listen to the show when it airs. I’ll be sure to let you know when it does.

I truly enjoyed the angle of which Lisa took with talking with me about Frankie and my book, “Through Frankie’s Eyes” and what I’ve learned from her. It is because of Frankie, that I am who I am today.

Though I didn’t get to say this on air, this thought ran through my mind. I gave Frankie a quality life by caring for her with her IVDD diagnoses and providing her a wheelchair, and she in turn, gave me a quality of life with all the she taught me on how to be proud of who I am and to speak my truth.

When Frankie first became paralyzed I had a pity party for myself for a few weeks until I realized it was up to me to change my attitude about our situation. From that change in attitude, I grew in ways I could have never imagined. My life grew spiritually and I evolved with a deeper connection not only to my pets, but to myself.

While I’ve known this now for quite some time, my radio interview with Lisa really brought it all home for me once again. It also reminds me that there are no accidents. I was meant to have this interview with Lisa… and though we may not really be sisters in the definition we tend to use, I felt this  connection with her because of our love for life and our love for animals. It was a wonderful way to end the week!

Smiling Buddha Dog. You Made My Heart Smile Just When I Needed it Most.

2014-03-06 15.10.57 eA big part of me is still struggling with the blog post I shared yesterday. I wanted to be honest and tell you this. It has weighed heavily on me since sharing Daisy’s story yesterday.

While I wanted to help Daisy by sharing her story to help raise medical funds, I realize how much it personally affects me. I’m a highly sensitive person so acts of violence are hard for me to hear, see, or read about. It is rare I will read stories of violence against animals, because it just cuts right through me.

I rarely watch the news either because of the negativity. It affects my psyche and has too much of a negative affect on me, so for my own health, I try to stay away from it as much as possible, as well as cruel things that happen to animals.

I may have likely not even come across Daisy’s story, but someone had personally sent it to me. It’s not the first one I’ve gotten sent to me and usually I won’t read them. While I’m not upset with the person who sent it, I realize again how stories like this affect me deeply.

It was also a reminder to me that I want my blog and Facebook page a place where people can come to for something positive to their day. While sharing Daisy’s story was positive in that I wanted to help her new owner raise some funds, unfortunately the comments that followed on Facebook really disturbed me.

Going through photos on my camera today, I found this photo I had taken of Gidget last week. It said to me that yes, peace and light is how I want to be in this world. I also believe that by being so it does spread that energy of vibration out into the universe affecting others in a positive way. I may never know who is affected in a good way from it, but I have faith it does.

I trust and know that Daisy will be fine and will get the help that she needs– with or without me. I also hope the very disturbed person who did what they did will get the help they need. But because these stories seem to swim in hatred, I can’t share them in the future. The issues around them are just so huge and it overwhelms me.

So while I’m not ignorant to what goes on in our world, I also know  there is much good that goes on too. That is what I want to share and be a part of.

I want to be Joyful Paws and continue to share all the amazing lessons our animals teach us. In doing so, I believe this will lead to less violence. I absolutely believe without a doubt that animals are here to teach us peace, compassion and understanding.  We have a long way to go at times, but I have hope we will get there.  And I want to continue to do my part in this way through my blog in sharing the good stories.

I have my smiling buddha dog, Gidget to remind me of that, as well as my sweet girl, Kylie too, who centers me when I need it most.