It's Monday and I Have Not Much to Say Today

This weekend, I raised over $1100 for two charities.  I spent much of Saturday walking around the grounds of a local event with a money/ticket apron tied around my waist asking for donations to benefit a worthy music student's scholarship.  About 8 hours later, I drummed up approximately $900.  On Sunday, I donated my deceased dog's toys to a rural volunteer-based animal shelter.  My dog always shared her toys, and being a rescue dog herself who never had a toy until she met me, I didn't think she would mind if I gave the same opportunity so other homeless dogs who might like a toy to play with.  I was then invited by the director of the shelter to a local 'Dog Derby' event, where they would be raising awareness for their shelter.  So, they gave me a boatload of brochures and a plastic container and asked me to go see what I could do.  About an hour or so later, I returned with $200 in small bills and coins and promises and pledges from many animal lovers in the crowds that they would bring blankets, towels, brushes, treats and food to the shelter in the coming months.  Needless-to-say, the nearly impossible has occurred....I've talked myself into silence.  I've actually gotten tired of moving my lips and making noise.  So, today, I don't have much to say here, but I will share this with you....

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  It ain't easy working a crowd to ask for money.  It's not easy to donate your best friend's toys posthumously, nor is it easy to then walk through a crowd of about 100 dogs and their owners after you've lost your own best-est dog.  But sometimes, you just need to step up to the plate if you've got what it takes to make a good cause happen.  At the end of the weekend, I had many mixed emotions...happiness, gratitude, sadness, completion, and also emptiness.  All in all, though, there was synergy....the sum of the parts was greater than the whole.
Do something this week that forces you out of your comfort zone...volunteer to step 'out of your box'.  It might be uncomfortable, but your perspective and scope of vision will benefit and so will those whose lives you will touch.
Happy Monday.  I'll shut up now.

Give Someone a Chance Today - You Never Know Who They'll Be Tomorrow

I'm going to get a bit personal today and tell you a short story.  I ran into an old photo the other day of me and my trusy therapy dog.  Over 13 years ago, a friend and I trekked 3.5 hours north of Manhattan so I could adopt a Golden Retriever.  Not that there aren't available dogs in the Metropolitan NY area - I didn't want to adopt an overbred dog (as they usually are here in NYC).  So, off we went to Troy, New York.  There were two dogs for me to meet.  At the end of the day, I was coming home with a dog, but who to pick?  There first came to the 'foster home' Ginger the dog.  Ginger was 18 months old, reddish and lean and a nice dog.  We went for a walk for 15 minutes to become acquainted.  The sponsors of the rescue organization told me to take Ginger and kept telling me I didn't really want to see the 'other thing' who was coming next.  Hey...I just schlepped 3.5 hours; I'm waiting to see the other dog!  They put Ginger out back and opened the front door to let in the 'other thing'.  We were sitting on stools in the back of the house.  A little Golden Retriever ran through the house, into the kitchen, jumped onto the counter to kiss the cat, kiss us and run out into the living room to take a nice big poop on the living room carpet.  The little dog then ran back to us with a huge smile on her face, wagging her tail as if to say 'YEAH!  Baby...Let's GO!".  It was love at first sight.  Our 15 minute 'get acquainted walk' was a bolt and sprint through the neighborhood (no wonder they asked me if I was strong).  The rescue people told me I was crazy to take this dog, but I said, "If she has manners, then she deserves a chance".  I placed a dog biscuit on the edge of my mouth, got her attention and told her to mind her manners and take it nicely.  This little dog gently took the biscuit from my mouth.  She had potential.  So, off we went, back to Manhattan.  She chose a new name for herself and after 2 days in the big city, she was running the show.
That little 'nuisance' became Nurse Sooki, my therapy dog who has brought smiles and good will to hundreds of people.  Nobody thought she'd ever amount to anything but trouble.  But I knew all she needed was a chance to grow and thrive and have some fun.

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  Don't 'blow off' anyone until you've given them an opportunity to show you what they've got first.  Whether it's a person or a pet, give them a chance.  You never know who they're going to become if given an opportunity to shine!  Who knows....it could be the next great peacemaker of this world, or the greatest scientific mind who discovers a real cure for cancer....just for fun, here's the photo of me and Sooki before I was a physician and before she became a great therapy dog!  I knew we BOTH had potential!