This Sweet Girl. Celebration Day.

Posted November 14, 2016 by Barbara Techel

Three years ago today I stood in the airport terminal with a brightly colored sign that read “Gidget.” My heart pounding. Tears close to the surface ready to spill over.

Was I really going to do this again? Care for another special needs dachshund with disc disease? Gidget would be my third.

My last dachshund, Joie, passing four months before was still an ache in my heart. But I felt sure that loving another would help heal my tender heart — though I’d never forget dear Joie.

She was wrapped in a red blanket as the owner of the rescue walked toward me. My heart beat faster and tears now blurred my eyes as she placed the dappled pup in my arms.

Gidget was now home and so was my fragile heart – full up it was, with the invigorating balm of joy that only opening to love again can do.

While there have been some challenging times with Gidget, it has opened new portals of understanding of myself once again – just like all the dogs I’ve loved before her have done. Just when I thought I’d come a long way, Miss Gidget brought with her more lessons for me to learn.

All my dogs have been a mirror to me and what I needed to better understand for my own evolution. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise to me that Gidget is that, too. But it continues to awe me how dogs can help us heal.

I’ve said from the beginning that I feel Gidget is a Buddha Dog – her purpose to remind me to keep my center and find balance when I find myself on the verge of losing sight of what is important to me – which is embodying the truth of who I am and what I believe makes for a meaningful and joyful life.

And while Gidget is that mirror for me, I see that I am that for her, too. When I live from that sacred space within that fills me with peace and calm, this in turn helps her to do the same.

We live in harmony with each other, a give and take, a coming together in the middle, a place where we exist together in the sweetest bliss that is pure joy and love.

That is my Gidget, and I while I celebrate her everyday, today I say a grateful thank you for the gift of 1,095 days of real love that she has been.

Thank you for sharing and subscribing to my blog updates.

Lily Rolls for Just a Few Short Days in a Wheelchair Granted by the Frankie Wheelchair Fund

Posted November 13, 2016 by Barbara Techel

Lily found her way to someone with a huge heart willing to go the distance and help her with her paralysis after her previous owners were unable to care for her.

Sydnie was Lily’s angel. She contacted me in October stating she needed help with a wheelchair for Lily asking if The Frankie Wheelchair Fund could help. I was more than happy to do just that and provide the funds for a wheelchair to be custom built by Eddie’s Wheels for Pets.

Sydnie worked hard with Lily improving her condition, but a wheelchair was still needed to provide quality of life for Lily. The wheelchair arrived in early November and while Lily’s story had a great beginning, I’m sad to report that she was diagnosed with Lymphona a few short days after she was up and rolling in her wheelchair.

Sydnie contacted me letting me know that Lily was in a lot of pain and the most humane thing to do was help her cross over, which she did, even though her heart was shattered. She also felt so bad for not being able to do more for Lily and felt in someway she had let her down.

Having been through this with Joie, I completely understood, and assured Sydnie that I truly believe that Lily knew how fortunate she was to have had a wonderful life with Sydnie the last few months. And now Lily is Syndnie’s angel.

And…. Lily’s wheelchair will help another disabled dog in need. As part of the Frankie Wheelchair Fund I ask that recipients of a wheelchair from the fund, return the wheelchair to Eddie’s Wheels when it is no longer needed. So the gift goes on…

—

If you are looking to donate this holiday season to a great cause, I’d be delighted if you considered The Frankie Wheelchair Fund, which helps disabled dogs in need of a wheelchair. To date, with the generous donations of others, I’ve been able to help over sixty dogs with the gift of mobility. Donations can be made online here. Thanks for your consideration!

Thank you for sharing and subscribing to my blog updates.

Home Again. My Favorite Vacation Find. Come See!

Posted November 12, 2016 by Barbara Techel

We are home again. While it was hard to leave Tennessee because we had such a fantastic time, I’m happy to be home, too. Sadly, North Carolina, part of Tennessee, and Kentucky are under a state of emergency. Two days before we left, there were forest fires burning near Knoxville and it continues to spread. We found out from locals that it has been extremely dry for quite some time.

We have visited Tennessee twice before this giving thought to possibly being a place we could live part time, but until this trip, I wasn’t so sure. But Northeast Tennessee is absolutely beautiful and I could see being there part of the year should we be able to do that when we retire.

The blue ridge mountains and being in the tri-city area of Johnson City, Elizabethton, and Jonesborough offered lots of variety, while still quaint and felt like home in many ways.

My favorite part was driving along Watagua River past the Wilbur dam, though I did get a bit nervous when we drove higher into the mountains and signs that said, “You are now entering Bear country.” I can’t tell you how often I silently said to myself, “Just surrender and let go, Barb.” I’m not a big fan of heights, but I did my best to overcome it so I didn’t miss out on the stunning beauty that was all around us.

On Tuesday we drove part of the Blue Ridge Parkway express through the mountains from Johnson City to Asheville, North Carolina – wow – that was absolutely gorgeous! There truly are no words describe the beauty, but it is breathtaking.

There were many moments I silently paused and gave thanks for this beautiful land Mother Nature has given us.

And driving along Blue Ridge Parkway, when the mountains were clearly before us, I found myself in a state of feeling quite verklempt, wanting to weep for the pure beauty of it all – it just overcame my heart!

Our destination this day was the Folk Art Center which is home to the Southern Highland Craft Guild. The center showcases the finest in traditional and contemporary crafts of the Southern Appalachians.

And this is where I found my favorite find – a hand crafted hummingbird house! I was so excited I almost squealed out loud! Here it is hanging in my writing cottage until next spring when I can put it outside.

img_2098-c

The instructions that came with it say to hang it under the eave or overhang away from rain, wind and predatory birds or insects. There is no guarantee a hummingbird will build a nest, it states, but I’m going to hope like all get out that I get little baby hummingbirds! It says that once a hummingbird does build a nest that the hatchlings return the next year. And get this? The nests are about the size of a penny and the eggs are the size of a Tic Tac!

I have a good feeling about this – that I will have a wee family of hummingbirds – and heck, one has to think positive right?

I’ll be sharing more photos in upcoming posts. But back to laundry and catching up on email, etc. But I’m really happy to be back and get to work again next week on projects!

And oh! Kylie and Gidget did very well on vacation – it just made my heart so happy to know they adjusted well, but I also sense that they too are happy to be home again, too. But isn’t that what vacation is all about? Happy to go, but happy to come home again. Makes one appreciate life all the more!

Thank you for sharing and subscribing to my blog updates.