“If The Only Prayer You Said Was Thank You, That Would Be Enough.”

“The sun is perfect and you woke this morning. You have enough language in your mouth to be understood. You have a name, and someone wants to call it. Five fingers on your hand and someone wants to hold it. If we just start there, every beautiful thing that has and will ever exist is possible. If we start there, everything, for a moment, is right in the world.”

__________

Two nights ago my friend and mentor Carmel taught me:
"You can't feel grateful and crappy at the same time" -- so it's important to take time each day to find something to be grateful for.

So that night we made gratitude beads. And a promise that each day, several times a day, we'd take a break from our work, obligations, and reality in general to reflect on the things we are grateful for; one statement for each bead. Challenging ourselves to find gratitude even in our most stressful of issues.

You may have seen posts on facebook, twitter, and our story in several news outlets about Buddy and Maddy.

Buddy, a 2 year old yellow lab, and Maddy an 8 month old bulldog, went missing on December 29th from their home on an acreage near Sherwood Park area. Buddy was supposed to be on bed rest waiting for his surgery to repair a torn ACL which was supposed to happen within a few days. Without anyone knowing, he pushed through the screen door and Maddy followed so they could play outside -- which is not uncommon. They have a huge yard to roam around in, but the strange part was when they did not return and could not be found. A huge team of family, friends, and volunteers searched the area. We trudged through knee high snow at all hours, combed the bushes, climbed through the river valley and even rappelled down cliffs. We hired trackers, pet detectives, animal professionals, who followed footprints and ruled out coyote attack or any other type of predator. We made and posted hundreds of missing posters throughout the city. In response we heard stories from people throughout Alberta and surrounding provinces about their dogs going missing. We even found just from the surrounding area in Edmonton that approximately 20 dogs went missing within a month without any clue. Stories of dogs being taken from their own yards, with theories of fighting rings, or stealing dogs to resell or breed them for money. You can imagine the worry, concern, and utter sick-to-our-stomach emotions hearing these stories and the days passing by without a sign of the pups.

Buddy belongs to 12 year old Keghan. Keghan and Buddy are joined at the hip, everywhere Keghan goes, Buddy follows. Buddy could be with 20 people petting him and rubbing his belly but the moment Keghan gets up, he's with him. This summer Keghan fell off his bike and injured himself very badly. Buddy stayed with him the entire time, licking his hand as if to say "you're not alone". The paramedics even had to pry Buddy off of Keghan when the ambulance came. Keghan and Buddy go everywhere together and even sleep in the same bed at night. Since Buddy has been gone, Keghan has been sleeping on the couch and gazing through the window hoping his dog will run up the driveway at any moment and come back home. I've never seen a dog love anyone more than Buddy loves Keghan.

When Keghan was 4 years old, he had a dog just like Buddy, a golden lab named Tucker. His best friend. Animal lovers can understand the bond between a boy and his dog, there's nothing like it. One day when Keghan was going outside to play, Tucker ran with him right out the door and into oncoming traffic. Keghan helplessly stood and watched his dog get hit by a car. This experience haunted him for years. When he was ten, the family, during a very emotional conversation, realized the burden Keghan was still carrying from this event and the nightmares he still had. He had been asking for another yellow lab, but it wasn't until the family realized this that they agreed, and that's when they got Buddy. When the two met, the connection was instant. It was as though Tucker was reincarnated through Buddy. Buddy's full name is actually Tucker's Buddy, and his arrival in Keghan's life is what healed him from that traumatic incident when he was a child. Losing Buddy was like experiencing it all over again.

Last night we got a call from a woman who told us Buddy was in her front yard. She called his name and he ran toward her but unfortunately when they were close enough for her to touch him, he got startled and ran away. Quickly there was a team of volunteers searching the area and calling out for Buddy. And because of what happened last night, I now have more to add to my list of things to be grateful for:

I am grateful that we now know Buddy is alive. In addition, I'm grateful that the woman who spotted him in her yard was unable to catch him, because if we hadn't continued our search, we would not have met the other woman that said "No, I haven't seen a stray yellow lab in the area, just a stray little bulldog" - MADDY! At this point we weren't sure if Maddy could make it through these past 3 weeks but now we are so grateful to know they're both alive and that we're so close. Most importantly I'm grateful that very soon I get to witness Keghan's face light up when he is reunited with his best friend in the world.

Today is our miracle day. Today they come home.

With gratitude,

Marley

Song Of The Day: I Just Want You To Know - Backstreet Boys