Animal Passion

Do animals have passion? I and many other people think so. I see the animal companions experiencing their passion everyday. The good thing is that in our pets finding their passion we can often times find ours. One group that is a great example of this are therapy dogs. There is a sense of purpose and pride with these animals. They know and love their job. Many of them are disappointed when they are unable to go to "work". Last year one of those very special souls returned to the Rainbow Bridge after almost 20 years of being on the planet. I am sure a lot of you have heard of Baxter the Therapy Dog. He passed away last October but the service he provided while he was here was immeasurable and will live on forever. He worked specifically with Hospice patients. He thrived in his work and brought much comfort to those in their last days and hours. I know all the lives he touched while here were waiting to welcome him back home.

Janet Kinosian was Baxter's caretaker and saw in him the divine being he was and helped him live his passion. There are clips of him on You Tube that you can watch and see this amazing being at work. Looking in his eyes you can see he has the deepest of souls. Melissa Joseph wrote a book about 36 people's lives who, as she says, "received the Baxter treatment". All proceeds from the sale of the book and the stuffed Baxter animal will go to various animal rescue charities. Check out the website at http://www.momentswithbaxter.com/.

There are other serious passions like search and rescue dogs or K9 police dogs. However, just like people not all pets have a serious "jobs". Some have incredibly fun ones. There are the dogs who are passionate about fly ball, agility or Frisbee too. This is what they live for! Let's not forget cats either. There are the ones who are passionate about helping people heal too or the ones who adore being a show cat! How about the horses that are being used to assist the blind? They too shine when their passion is discovered and utilized.

Animals have that special thing they are good at and given the right situation and person they can fulfill that passion. So what is your animal companion passionate about. It could just be their family and how important you are to them. For that animal their people are their passion. Have you discovered your pet's passion yet?

Happy Trails!
Sherry

One Person Can Make a Difference

Hard to believe that just one person can make a difference but it's true! Here is the proof for you and know that it happens many times a day in many different ways. We may not hear about it but it does. This is from an email hat was sent around through one of the animal rescue groups I am associated with. It doesn't matter which group it was because as I said it happens everyday. This is just one example.

First let me say that most breed specific rescues are associated with each other on a national level and often times help each other out. There was a dog who was surrendered to one of the local rescues in southern California in pretty rough shape. Because it was a kill shelter the dog only had a few days at best. He was a sweet boy with a great disposition but even that would not have been enough to save him. His breed unfortunately has a very bad rap.

The local breed rescue was notified and said they could take him for a couple days at best, they would have to find a temporary foster home situation to get him into after that. The word was sent out that a foster home was needed for this special dog. After hours of emails flying back and forth through the rescue the place in southern California found a place in New Hampshire willing to take him in and foster him. Now came the trick of getting him there. This is where the one person makes a difference comes in.

One person in southern California was willing to drive the dog to Arizona where there would be someone waiting to transport him on his next leg of his journey. The person in Arizona connected with the person from southern California and drove him into Texas. Another connection in Texas to the next leg of his journey. This connection of each person went on until the dog arrived at his final destination in New Hampshire.

Each person along the way made a difference for just one dog. Each person giving just a little made a life changing difference for this dog. So looking at the smaller picture is sometimes just as important as looking at the bigger picture.

Happy Trails
Sherry