Good night Daisy. Good night Lucy. Did you have a nice Christmas?
ONE YEAR AGO
TWO YEARS AGO
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to You and Yours
"Have you been good Lucy?"
"Who among us can say who is truly good?"
Lucy decided she should have just said, "yes."
Spoiler! Santa included Lucy on the nice list!
Maya is the Boston of my sister and brother-I-love, Jodi and Shane and my niece Madi. Maya is not sure what to think of the Christmas Pig!
Who will blink first??
New comic every Friday!
Mike Wazowski is one of the sweet dogs of my friend Kathi Ortmeier of Basset and Beagle Rescue of the Heartland. Mike, you are so photogenic!
Chicken Soup for the Soul - My Cat's Life - 101 Stories about all the Ages and Stages of Our Feline Family Members
Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Jennifer Quasha
"Another cat? Perhaps. For love there is also a season; its seeds must be resown. But a family cat is not replaceable like a worn out coat or a set of tires. Each new kitten becomes its own cat, and none is repeated. I am four cats old, measuring out my life in friends that have succeeded but not replaced one another. -Irving Townsend. page 319.
What's that in the upper left hand corner? Another product to review next week perhaps?
When I was choosing products to receive and review from Chewy.com for the first time, my very first choice was a Chicken Soup book. I love these!
Chewy.com is letting me choose two items to review free of charge every month. If there is a product you would like me to review, please let me know!
Of the Chicken Soup books, I chose a cat book because I still miss our Max the Cat and I miss all of my feline patients I can no longer see because of my allergies.
My Cat's Life - 10/10 - would read again.
I loved these stories you guys. I took off my judgy pants (there were quite a few outdoor cats and cats giving birth and delayed veterinary care and rehomed cats) and put on my jammie pants and settled in for what turned out to be a very enjoyable time.
I love the individuality and nuances and beauty of cats. All of these traits are here in abundance. I love very old cats the most. They were here too. My favorite story is #79 - The Ingredients of Happiness, by Saralee Perel, because it explores living in the moment with your pet. I also likes that it takes place in a veterinary hospital.
It was intriguing to hear how families interpreted information from their veterinary teams as relayed in the stories. It was heartening to realize most families absorb and interpret medical information accurately, even in stressful times.
This book is calming, like the presence of a cat is calming.
If you would like to read this book, please let me know. I will write a list of names inside the front cover, and we can pass it around. When I get it back, I plan to read it again!
ONE YEAR AGO
TWO YEARS AGO
Christmas for the Nebraska Humane Society pets <3
Aunt Penny and Uncle Scotty were looking for a puppy.
Whitney showed me these puppies at Nebraska Humane Society.
Scott said, "That's the one! The brown puppy, I know it!"
And so he was.
Meet Steve! Isn't he adorable?
I will get to meet him this afternoon! I can't wait! Do you want to see more pictures and hear more about Steve?
A few years ago, Abby dressed Luna up as Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas...
Greta is a German Wirehaired Pointer cross of my friend veterinary assistant Katelyn Clark. She is ten years old. Isn't she gorgeous?? And so sweet! Merry Christmas Greta!
Onyx is my niece Kylah's kitty. Isn't he gorgeous?
Merry Happy Thanksgiving Christmas from the always dapper young man Onyx!
New comic every Friday!
Oh Freebird!
Freebird says "Ain't nobody got time for this reindeer nonsense!"
That's better! Good job Joe!
Buttercup <3
ONE YEAR AGO
TWO YEARS AGO
One of my favorite client families has the last name "Fox." They gave me this wine and fox wine topper for Christmas last year. I love it so much!
Today's post is a radiograph (x-ray) of a miniature ornament. I do not remember why we took the x-ray. Either to compare to the contents of a dog's stomach who may of eaten an ornament or just for funsies. I think it was the first one.
Anyways, I thought it was a pretty picture and wanted to share it with you!
ONE YEAR AGO
TWO YEARS AGO
"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." Proverbs 4:23, NIV
"Don't harden your hearts..." Hebrews 3:8, NIV
“You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, smarter than you think, and loved more than you know.”
― A.A. Milne, The Pooh Story Book
Things I have been told during my career:
"You need to toughen up."
"You can not be so emotionally invested."
"You need a harder heart."
No, no and no.
When there is grief, I need to be gentle, I care deeply and I need a soft heart. The payoff has always been that I am emotionally steamrollered. One sad case can flatten me for days and have lasting effects. It has always been worth it. I would rather be there in the midst of the sadness than anywhere else.
But what if instead of our hearts becoming hardened or remaining completely vulnerable to destruction, there were a third option?
We are instructed in the Bible to guard our hearts, but not to to have hard hearts. How is that possible?
I think the key is in developing a stronger heart.
How?
Some of the strengthening of a heart is supernatural. It is not something we can will to happen, but it is something we can allow to happen.
When the next appointment is a euthanasia or a quality of life consult, do you open the door and walk in prepared to be fully emotionally engaged? Already, with each experience your heart grows stronger.
Our hearts can also be strengthened through repetition. Keep walking into difficult situations over and over. Not that we have a choice as veterinary professionals. Guard your heart. Do not let it become hardened. Let it grow stronger with every experience.
You are already stronger than you know and becoming even stronger.
"Don't Let Your Heart Be Hardened" by Petra
Don't let your heart be hardened - don't let your love grow cold
May it always stay so childlike - may it never grow too old
Don't let your heart be hardened - may you always know the cure
Keep it broken before Jesus, keep it thankful, meek, and pure
May it always feel compassion - may it beat as one with God's
May it never be contrary - may it never be at odds
May it always be forgiving - may it never know conceit
May it always be encouraged - may it never know defeat
May your heart be always open - never satisfied with right
May your heat be filled with courage and strengthened with all might
Let His love rain down upon you
Breaking up your fallow ground
Let it loosen all the binding
Till only tenderness is found
ONE YEAR AGO
TWO YEARS AGO
Milo belongs to my veterinarian friend Miranda Thomassen and her family. He is the cutest dog!
Oh Milo! You are so cute!