Discalimer: the post below is over a year old. It is from my prior blog. I am moving it over for a friend who lost her dog last night, and for anyone else who has had their heart broken by the death of a dear dog buddy. Yup, I'm part of that pack. I get it.

This post is about loss, which isn't obviously healthy or beautiful, but crucial to both. On Monday, my dog died. I have felt heart break before, and have lost a dog before, but somehow, my relationship with that little dog has hurt more deeply than any other loss. I think, in part, because I was truly her protector since she was such a small thing; and because the love was so complete and pure. There was no doubts and difficulties in our relationship; it was one of complete joy.

My relationship with her was a really lovely component of life and my relationship with my boyfriend. Watching the two of them always, always made me smile, and the three of us loved our "pack time".

Here's how my relationship with Scrap improved my health:

Every morning, instead of getting straight to work which had been my norm, Me, Scrap and my BF would sit near the pellet stove for about an hour, quietly, listening to public radio. During that time, BF and I would have our coffee treat, Scrap would have her small doggie treats, five of them. It was a precious, silent time of the day.

Then we'd do pack stretch. She would practice her jump/lick moves while showing off her downward dog. Hers was always more graceful than ours.

Throughout the day, she got walks, which made me get up, away from the computer, and get outside.

In the afternoon, BF and I eat some carrots. It's a weird habit, and he started it. She gets pieces (loved them). She'd start asking for them if we forgot, which again, made us stop what we were doing to eat something healthy.

In the evening, we almost always have a cabbage salad while cooking dinner, and she waited for her cabbage, which she loved. If we didn't eat some, she'd keep walking back and forth, asking for hers.

She got a little oil in her food regularly to make her coat shiny, which it was. It reminded me to take my fish oils and Vit. D.

Every evening, we'd pack stretch again, then pack snuggle, which she loved. It helped us slow our day down, and make sure we hung out together most evenings. We also howled, once a day, because she loved feeling like a wild dog, and wasn't really allowed to bark.


I found her almost exactly one year after a back injury, and she made sure my life habits continued

to support a healthy spine. I also lost her exactly two years to the day that I had the back injury, which will always, always give me a ritual of making sure my life is in healthy order, and may be as important of a date as a birthday or New Year's.


So here's to the daily rituals and influences that increase our joy and peace, and ultimately make life more beautiful.

And here's to making sure those rituals are embedded in your existence, regardless of day-to-day situations and tragedies.

xo, Melissa