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 Midwest couple in room #8.

The daily ritual

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 plans for the day and wondered if they had any input. Usually they just smiled back.

When we left for the afternoon to explore the island, the dogs walked us to our car as a ceremonial send-off. When we came home, they’d saunter over to the car to greet us and then walk us back to our room. Once again they’d relax on our deck with us as we enjoyed happy hour. And we always gave them hugs before heading off to bed.

If we hung around the Inn during the day, we’d often find the dogs taking refuge from the hot Caribbean sun underneath our car. See the black grease patch on the top of Bozo’s head in the photo above?

Magic on the last day of vacation

The best was the final day. We had to set the alarm for 4:00 a.m. to catch our flight off the island. The sky was pitch black and sprinkled with stars. The moon was perfectly round and full, glowing over the island and calm sea like a gigantic floodlight illuminating the earth.

It was so quiet and still that it seemed like the entire island was still asleep. So before showering or getting ready, we wanted to grab this opportunity. Bill and I came out of our room and quietly tip-toed in our bare feet toward the edge of the hill, holding hands, to revel in this moment.

Without saying a word to each other, we both knew that we needed time to purposefully say “thank you” and “good-bye” to this place that had become a second home to us in a matter of 14 days (did you know we actually won tickets for this trip? Check it out here).

And as we stood in total silence and reverence of nature’s wonder, off in the distance we heard a faint jingle. You know, the kind where you know your dog is on his way to see you. It became a double jingle and got louder and closer. Then Bozo and Dipsy emerged out of the darkness and were magically at our feet, leaning their bodies against us.

How did they know? How did they hear us? And most importantly, what were they doing awake at this hour?

Our hearts were overjoyed as our special Caribbean buddies peacefully rested on the grass below us. They weren’t asking for anything and didn’t even require being acknowledged. They just wanted to be with us to bid us farewell and share in this special moment.

The essence of true joy

So with our arms around each other, Bill and I gazed at the full moon and the shimmery trail of diamonds it left in the bay. Together, all four of us experienced the simplicity of joy in the moment.

Joy doesn’t have to be about activity, accomplishment, or achievement. Rather, it can be about the smell of breakfast, quiet time chilling together, escorting a friend to their car, or just “being there” for each other to marvel at the moon.

Ahhh…the simplicity of joy. I like it. It is truly effortless.

Where do you notice this type of joy showing up in your life?

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!

It was time

On our 10th and final day of vacation, Bill and I took a brisk walk along the beach and came back up to the room and made breakfast to eat out on the deck. For whatever reason, this was the morning that felt right. It was 10:30, and the air was HOT, and the humidity fogged up our sunglasses instantly and created thick condensation on our rapidly melting ice water.

As usual, we looked out to sea for that chance dolphin sighting. Earlier, we had the idea to meditate on the deck and “invite” the dolphins to visit us. So we did. After we finished our breakfast, we pushed our dishes aside and moved over to the two-seated glider, which faced the ocean directly head-on. We sat in a spot where our only view was the water ahead; we were close enough to the ocean—and high enough—that we could simply focus on the waves and on the horizon.

Our invitation

We both sat still, closed our eyes, and focused on relaxation and peacefulness through deep breathing to calm and quiet our minds. Our intention was to become grounded and centered, connect with nature and with the earth, and become one with the bigger picture of life and of the universe. Together, we imagined dolphins playing in the ocean and remembered that we are “one” with them…all a part of something bigger. So we invited the dolphins to come.

And they came.

Right straight out in front of our deck—they played and they danced and they swam.

“There’s one!”

“There’s another one!”

“And there’s three together!”

“And look over there!”

They lingered in the water and rode the waves. Their smooth jumps out of the water were almost like a “How you doin’?” to us. We were in awe. In this 100-degree heat index weather, we had goose bumps.

Dolphins as teachers

Bill reminded me to send my love and appreciation in return to them, so the prayer I said was “Thank you.” Thank you for teaching us to play. Thank you for reminding us to smile. Thank you for showing us how to have fun.

And the dolphins stayed and hung out and allowed us to witness that other side of life; what life can be like if we only dare to create it in that playful way.

Down below on the beach, families, sunbathers, and joggers stopped what they were doing to watch the show that was going on just beyond the swimming area. And from high up on our deck, Bill and I quietly observed nature’s beauty and gave thanks for the reminder of the powerful, universal connection that we are all a part of. And I don’t know of anything more joyful than that.

I’m so glad we took the time that morning to be quiet and still…and invite the joy to come.

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…

Our new family

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 “props” to make me laugh. His trick of choice was what we called “stackable dogs” where I’d be in the bathroom getting ready in the morning and everything was just a little too quiet to be kosher. So I’d glance over at the doorway, and there they were just inside the doorframe spying on me…stackable dogs—like hotel banquet chairs that stacked perfectly on top of each other for storage—watching me do my makeup (see photo below):

And then on the weekends we felt like we “should” be with the dogs because we had basically been away the entire week. As a newly married couple, our friends started to wonder what was up, and then so did we. Our lives didn’t feel balanced and it didn’t feel fair to the dogs, either.

The difficult decision

It was very upsetting for us to think about finding new homes for our precious cargo, but it was, as Wilford Brimley would say, “The right thing to do.” I remember the night before Bailey went to his new home–I held him close and cried. He looked up at me with the same look that a concerned best friend would give you. And as my tears fell, he softly and slowly brushed his cold little nose all across my face. In a way, he seemed to be vacuuming up my tears. I’ll never forget that moment.

We ended up finding two wonderful families to take on our little guys, and we have been lucky enough to receive holiday cards and photos from them throughout the years. Thank goodness we tried out dogs instead of kids! Kids aren’t quite as easy to pass along to another family.

We thought that having dogs in our lives was synonymous with following our joy. And it was. But for us, it just needed to look a bit different, and we had to be okay with that. Since we are a couple who loves to be independent and on the go, we realized that dogs don’t necessarily fit in with our chosen lifestyle.

So we make sure to get dogs in our lives in other ways! We are blessed to be godparents to two beautiful and wonderful Shelties, Sophie and Pursey, who go crazy every time they see us, and vice versa. How cool is that?

Making the best of it

At home, we have imaginary dogs that roam our place: “Pancakes,” the Golden Retriever puppy; “Waffles,” the elderly Basset Hound; “Fruit Loops,” the Dalmatian; and “Pedro & Poncho,” twin Chihuahuas that wear mini sombreros and tiny Mexican blankets over their shoulders. They are all low maintenance, great when we go on vacation, and easy to blame if something goes awry.

Life is never short on lessons. And I believe this one is that there is a season in life for everything. Things don’t necessarily have to be black and white, or look exactly like you planned. Someday we’ll have a dog (or two) again, but for now, our imaginary dogs fit the bill pretty well. Most importantly, we will always have the warm, special memories of our short time together with The Fellas.

Note: Check out this other great dog story about the pure joy that our furry friends bring to the world.