Walking Along - Singing a Song - Barking Along

Funny - if I had to name my first love it would be Singing. It was always a dream of mine to be a professional singer. I begged my father for singing lessons and I think he managed to pay for TWO. He told me Barbara Streisand was just a natural and of course he squashed my dreams......

Of course that was always his plan - he expected me to be one of the top five Doctor, Lawyer, Dentist, Engineer or Architect. No one ever mentioned to me that you could actually go to school to learn about Business. You would think a smart girl like me would have found out about business school before going through Sciences and writing the MCAT and then changing my whole career path after realizing I wanted nothing to do with that in my life. So GMAT and Many years later I was finally in Business.

I must say my dad did feign a heart attack when I told him I was leaving my career already a VP of Operations to start a dog walking business.

But I really just wanted to SING........so I started to Karaoke and loved it so much I started calling MYSELF the Karaoke Queen. Sadly, now in the present my daughter gives me the evil eye when she hears me singing to the radio and my husband give me the perfunctory nod of approval that he feels he must. Although, he has willingly taken me to karaoke...mmmm.....Maybe they offered good cheap beer.....I am not sure I know the true motivation.

So I digress. When I started my Pet Business all my MBA Friends gathered - sat down with me to do a "pow wow" on what to name it. So many names came to mind -- Pet Patrol, Pet Partners, PetsRus, oh you name it we thought of it all punchy, ad savvy, direct, they knew what they were talking about.

But I was stuck on my tag line - of course a result of my hidden singing needs. Whenever anyone asked how things were going I would chime in and I literally mean "chime in" Just Singin A Song....Barking A long..... my body would sway as I chanted the tag line. Made me feel good.

In fact....I sang to my hearts content when I was driving around the city picking up dogs...and then could I belt out a ballad at the park.

I never lost a dog....they always knew where to find me by my shrill. And I can BELT IT OUT let me tell you.

So I have finally found my audience - and they are all willing to listen and I feel like I am truly a star.......LEADER OF THE PACK and BARKING ALONG - just singing my song!!

Sunday - A day of Peace

Sunday - a day of peace, to reflect, to relax and enjoy family. However in this case I am talking about SUNDAY the dog. A wonderful golden retriever a dog that fit her name in that she was a joy to her family and wonderful way to relax and enjoy your day with. A dog who gives unconditional love and now Sunday is at Peace.

After more than 20 years I was bound to have dogs pass away and cross over the "rainbow bridge" and I get affected by the loss personally. It never ceases to amaze me how these creatures chip their way into my heart with their quirky personalities and charm.

I personally cared for Sunday when she was diagnosed with cancer about 1 year ago. Her lovely parents had commitments in Pakistan and needed me to care for her. It was always bittersweet. Seeing her enjoy her bone, a lazy walk in the park, an excited tail wag going for a drive in the car. Never knowing when she would turn. And she did many months later and the decision was made for her.

Even at the end she gave her love to all of us. She meant so much to me - I can only imagine the void in the hearts of her parents.

I feel thankful to have know her and so many of my canine friends. I miss so many...

Cory, Taiga, Sonoma, Honey, Brendan, Winnie and Perkins, Sherlock, Mac, Georgie, Britain, Sammy, Chester, Max, barkley, Jasmin, hudson, sadly the list is long - too long to continue and actually quite painful.