Life after Beezer and Boomer - Pet Grief

"If you agree that pets are family members, you'll understand my crazy story. And if you have an aging pet or are going through a pet's fatal illness, I hope my experience helps in some small way to lessen the pain, dispel the fear, shed light on the process and provide a little peace. Most of all, I hope to encourage the realization that this isn't the worst of times; it is the richest of times." - Doug Koktavy

*A note from Wendy - Host of Conscious Living on Empower Radio: Over the years of working with animal lovers and animal caregivers and sharing their stories I have read numerous books. This book shines a light on the intimate moments still left to share as the life form you have come to know, love and cherish downshifts in preparation for transition to a higher plane.

We are very ill equipped to deal with death (and grief) in Western society. Doug manages to showcase how that might change and has two charming canine helpers assisting him in mapping a divine blueprint for that process.

The Legacy of Beezer and Boomer is an extraordinary read -- what should be a heartbreaking story of the grief of pet loss is a journey through transformation, release and transcendence. (Note: tears will flow.)

Emerging in the midst of the sadness is a deepening awareness and connection between all involved and an expansion and awakening to a greater capacity to love.

Inspired and inspiring... a remarkable legacy from/of two very beloved friends.




Praise for Beezer and Boomer -

What a fabulous, heartfelt, and enjoyable read (assuming you don’t mind some crying). Doug adeptly describes his transition from skillful attorney, who takes pride in controlling the world around him, to a soul-searching student who, under the tutelage of his beloved four-legged mentors, strives to live in the moment. In the genre of ‘dog vignettes’ it’s mighty refreshing to read a journey of feelings rather than simply a comical description of life with a dog.”- Dr. Nancy Kay, author of Speaking for Spot: Be the Advocate Your Dog Needs to Live a Happy, Healthy, Longer Life www.speakingforspot.com

Doug Koktavy is an multiple award-winning author, publisher and speaker. He is a Certified Counselor, Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement. Doug also is a moderator of the K9 Kidney Diet Yahoo Group and the Pet Grief Yahoo Group, and he is a member of the Bone Cancer Dogs Yahoo Group. He is on the Board of Directors of Bone Cancer Dogs, Inc., a New Jersey nonprofit corporation. He also is a volunteer with Safe Harbor Labrador Retriever Rescue. Currently an attorney in Denver, he enjoys biking, running and taking quiet walks with his new black Lab, Dory.

Doug Koktavy shares his story and book on Conscious Living with Wendy Garrett on Empower Radio. Get the podcast or listen on-demand at www.empoweradio.com.

You are also invited to share your story with Doug.

Misguided Monk - the uninvited guest

Teachers come in all forms - as do students. - AnimalNsight Blog


A break in the routine brings fresh insight on the meaning of companionship and tolerance.

 
The Misguided Monk from Tom Long on Vimeo.

(9/13/16) 1,432,143 views on YouTube
Follow Tom on his Art Blog


Free Guided Meditations UCLA Mindful Awareness Research 

• Cultivating Positive Emotions: Meditation on Loving Kindness. Instructions include focusing on someone who triggers a smile when you think about them, including a pet/s.
  
  
• Sample the ongoing "drop-in" Meditation sessions led by UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center's Diana Winston, Marvin G. Belzer Ph.D or guest teachers.
  
  
  • Open to anyone interested in learning how to 'live more presently' in life.

Sniffing out Cancer - Dogs know Scents

Studying cows, pigs and chickens can help an actor develop his character. There are a lot of things I learned from animals. One was that they couldn't hiss or boo me. - James Dean 

We continue to learn so much about animals and their unique abilities. One ability that has come to light in recent months involves sniffing out Cancer. Sniffing Out Cancer.

In a groundbreaking move, a new course is set to start this Fall. The InSitu Foundation in Chico, CA is offering the first cancer detection dog training certification course starting in Oct 2016. Details.


Overview: Over a decade ago, Dina Zaphiris began to train and research with her dogs in cancer detection. Results show her dogs can indeed detect cancer on human breath and in urine, even at Insitu, the earliest stage. Accuracy rate: 98%  Funding Video.

Uniquely qualified for the endeavor, canine scent sleuthing abilities are extraordinary. Unfortunately, these abilities have yet to be widely recognized and tapped. The more the word gets out on this and the wider the information is shared, the greater the lifesaving potential.

* "Currently, there are approximately 317 million people in the United States. There are approximately 83 million dogs; less than 50 of them have received training to detect cancer." CNN.

Dummies/Dogs says, when it comes to scent receptors, humans possess about 5 million. In comparison, a Bloodhound has 300 million. In other words, we are limited to the Cliffs Notes version in smell awareness while dogs can access an entire library and then some. More insight into that wonderful ability is available through the NOVA feature: Dogs' Dazzling Sense of Smell.

Highlights from Dummies/Dogs:

• "Your dog's nose has a pattern of ridges and dimples that, in combination with the outline of its nostril openings, make up a nose print believed to be as individual and unique as a human being's fingerprints."
• "A dog's brain is also specialized for identifying scents. The percentage of the dog's brain that is devoted to analyzing smells is actually 40 times larger than that of a human! It's been estimated that dogs can identify smells somewhere between 1,000 to 10,000 times better than nasally challenged humans can."  - Source - Dummies.com

I discovered the Sniffing Out Cancer Project, currently a work in process, through Kim Saavedra, one of my contacts for my Conscious Living Program and immediately wanted to follow up and share the content. Kim has had her own challenge with Cancer and is featured in a promo for the Documentary.



This film promises to bring awareness (and hopefully, wider development and incorporation) of this effective and non-invasive technique to help improve our ability to offer earlier medical support and proactive treatment for a disease where time is a crucial element in determining strategy and methods for successful recovery.

If smell is a factor in detection, who better to rely on than the experts in the field of scentology?

Our undying gratitude we own them for this service, combined with recognition for outstanding past performance in life-saving skills demonstrated on behalf of their human companions. There is no pedestal high enough for hu/man's best friend/s.

Film Producer: Adriana LaCorte
Sniffing Out Cancer
Sniffing out Cancer on Facebook
Insitu - DogsDetectCancer.org
Pine Street Foundation Canine Cancer Research
Dog Diagnoses Cancer story from 2008
This story is about a dog who sniffs out Stress. School Service Dog: Cali


For more interesting notes regarding Dogs and their incredible noses read: 7 Amazing Facts on Dogster

Early morning cattle call ...

Ten million views and counting .... a Royal success ....

Give it a few seconds and you see the first head pop up on the horizon ...
a trickle soon becomes a stream
and slowly they all gather
to ponder the player
... and shower him with cattle calls...




For more farm insight: Facebook, Twitter and Youtube

"All of the animals except for man know that the principle business of life is to enjoy it."
- Samuel Butler