A Dog's Purpose? (from a 6-year-old)

I received the following Email from a friend and it hit close to my heart as many of you are aware I have a 14+ year-old Beagle that has some health issues and I know in my heart her time is coming to move on. So as I read the message the tears started flowing, but then I read the entire message and realized it contains some important life lessons we can all learn from.

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound. The dog's owners and their little boy were all very attached to the dog, and they were hoping for a miracle.

I examined the dog and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn't do anything for him and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.

As we made arrangements, the owners said they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though he might learn something from the experience.

The next day I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away.

The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusiosn. We sat together for awhile after Belker's death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, "I know why." Startled we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation. It has changed the say I try and live.

He said,''People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life -- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?'' Te Six-year-old continued,''Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long.''

Live simply.
Love generously.

Care deeply.
Seak kindly.

Remember, if a dog was the teacher you would learn things like:

When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.

Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.

Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure Ecstasy.

Take naps.

Stretch before rising.

Run, romp, and play daily.

Thrive on attention and let people touch you.

Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.

On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.

On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.

When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.

Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.

Be loyal.

Never pretend to be something you're not.

If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.

When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by, and nuzzle them gently.

ENJOY EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY!

Molly B. Good

Worked on this layout tonight. Molly was quite a pistal (and can still be at times). We named her Molly but found ourselves frequently saying "Molly be good." So when it came time to send in her papers, I officially named her Molly B. Good.

Journaling reads:

She moves slower these days and is no longer able to jump on the bed. Getting on or off the sofa or off the deck is a major chore. I no longer have to worry about her running off. She has some serious health problems and her monthly prescription bill for one drug costs more than our prescriptions. I’m unsure if she can still hear me, but she can still smell and is contantly under foot when working in the kitchen. She’s been such a great companion to me and I treasure every day she’s still with me. JANUARY 2010

Supplies used: Papers from Jessica Sprague's Holidays in Hand kit; Songbird Avenue Bloom and Grow Temoplates

Week 3 in review, part 2

Continuing on in my quest to document 2009 with a picture a day, here is the 2nd half of week 3.

Sunday we went shopping and one of the items we bought was a new comforter for our bed.

Monday was a holiday and I didn't have to work. I spent the morning in my office scrapping this layout for the ADSR 4 race. This is what I saw on my love seat when I left the office to get something to eat.

Tuesday was the inauguration and I spent the day glued to the TV and forgot to take a picture until later that evening, which I was still glued to the TV. So I snapped this picture of the new Prez and his beautiful wife at one of the balls.

Wednesday it had warmed up to 30 degrees (its in the picture) and on my lunch washed my car and then took it in for an estimate to fix the damage from this.

I am using Life 365 Tool Box Collection, available from
Weeds and Wildflowers for this project.

Molly B. Goode

Got up this morning and decided to scrap some pictures of Molly I ran across from 1999. Molly was four when these pictures were taken; she is now 12 1/2. She's starting to show her age these days with limping and taking longer to get up from laying down. She was our first Beagle and she taught us a lot about how to secure a yard to keep her from escaping. As a pup, she also loved to chew up my shoes. I don't know how many pairs of tennis shoes she chewed up. Our daughter Carrie was already away at college when we added her to the house and when Carrie was home from school for a break, it never failed I would get a call from her, "I hate this dog." Molly was forever bolting out the door and taking off and boy could she run. We later would put in an underground fence which really did work (for her anyway).

Scrapping this page brought back some fond memories I have of Molly. Although I really love my other two dogs, when Molly was our only dog, I took her everywhere with me and could get her to obey commands to stay or drop so I could photograph her. She made many trips to Kirksville, Missouri with me to visit Carrie or pick her up. She was a real good traveler. She would go to sleep as soon as the speedometer would hit 45; as soon as I had to slow down to go through a town, she would wake up and look out at her surroundings. Then when the car would pick up speed again after leaving a town, back to sleep she went.

{Supplies used include Sunset Papers and Sunset Elements from the Daydream Collection by Meredith Fenwick over at Prima Hybrid; Fonts were Amazone BT and arial; program used was Photoshop Elements 6.0.}