Animal Connections

We had the pleasure of staying at the Heritage Inn on the British Virgin Island of Tortola a few years ago. And for those two weeks, we became a hit with the owner’s dogs, Bozo and Dipsy; and they, in turn, became a hit with us.

A routine in our relationship with the dogs quickly developed. Each morning as Bill and I made breakfast, our two canine friends quietly appeared on the deck, breathing in the aroma of scrambled eggs and oatmeal coming from our little kitchen. It must have been the clanking of the dishes—or maybe it was simply the smell of our hot breakfast food—that signaled to them it was time to visit the nice couple from the Midwest in room #8.

Like clockwork, they’d show up and chill just on the other side of our screen door. Bozo and Dipsy would watch our every move with intense focus, in the most polite and respectful manner. They wouldn’t make a sound or bother us or interrupt our cooking procedure. Sometimes we’d pretend for a moment not to know they were there so that we could slyly watch them out of the corners of our eyes. Those sweet dogs melted our hearts!

We’d always go out on the deck to eat our breakfast, enjoying the view across the bay which looked out toward St. Thomas. The dogs stayed and watched us, barely blinking an eye. We’d talk to them and tell them our Read more »

Part of following your joy is about being still. When we’re busy and racing through life, we miss all kinds of opportunity for joy. I notice that the more I am “still,” the more I see all kinds of things around me that bring me joy…things that I might not have noticed otherwise.

A great example of this is from a few years ago when Bill and I were privileged guests at our friends’ beautiful beachfront condo in Florida. Before we left for our stay at the condo, our friends told us to pay attention and watch for the dolphins: “They’re out there all the time,” they said.

So during our visit, Bill and I watched and we waited. Not a moment went by that we didn’t stare out to sea, hoping for a glimpse of a smiling porpoise dancing in the waves.

Instead, though, throughout the week we were delighted with pelicans traveling in groups of two or three soaring past our sixth floor deck; herons walking along the low tide hunting for bugs; crabs scurrying down the shell-laden beach; lizards making their way across the pool pavement; and seagulls allowing the ocean breeze to carry them high in the sky.

Oh, how we would have loved for dolphins to round out this wildlife experience!

On our 10th and final day of vacation, Read more »

Marriage: check. Build our first home: check. Get a dog: CHECK! But as you can see, we came home with two puppies instead of one! We fell head over heels in love with these two little fur-balls of joy and were beyond ecstatic for our new role as “parents.” We named “Bailey” for his coloring that resembled the yummy Irish liqueur, and “Scooter” got his name because it matched his personality. Our two little boys had no idea of the outpouring of love they were in for…

And so we lived and breathed life with our new dogs. “The Fellas” we called them. We watched movies with them—on opposite ends of the couch—one on each of our laps. We took Sunday afternoon naps with them, snuggled up in bed together, their warm tummies breathing in and out with ours. And we taught them tricks and games and held them close in our arms as we danced in our living room during the weekly “Saturday Night at the 70’s” radio show that we blasted through the speakers. The Fellas loved disco.

Neither of us grew up with dogs, but a love of dogs has always been in our hearts. Any dog we meet knows that we are their friend; they sense it instantly.

Bill loved to clown around with the dogs and create their bodies into Read more »