"Smell the sea and feel the sky. Let your soul and spirit fly." ~ Van Morrison   This was a difficult post to write. It has taken me a bit to write it after hearing yet another long-time social media friend, Nick Templeman, had earned his human wings two months ago today. The above is a collage I created from photos shared by Nick ( the large framed photo is an image I created by merging various pics of him with four of beloved companions: Tundra, Thunder, Yukon, and Kasper). I know when Nick crossed the Rainbow Bridge, he was eagerly greeted by his beloved furangels, who were there waiting for him.    Nick and I "met" as so many of us have, through our love of Huskies and our personal journeys we shared in blogs and on social media with having epileptic dogs (Epi-dogs). We met through our epileptic Siberian Huskies—my sweet Husky boy, Gibson, and Nick's dear Husky, Tundra a/k/a "Wolfer" and "Tundy" (who was diagnosed with early onset idio...

    “True friendship is like sound health; the value of it is seldom known until it be lost.” ~ Charles Caleb Colton O ur connections to friends in the pet world is huge thanks to social media. And some of us have been lucky enough to forge some wonderful friendships over the miles and years, even decades, with some pretty amazing, caring folks. When we learn of a loss of one of our beloved pets, this "family of friends" steps up to grieve with us, support us, and console with us. When someone welcomes a new dog to the family, we all cheer. When a homeless husky is in need, this family of friends steps up and shares the post in the hopes of helping rescues find a forever home for the waiting dog. Then, suddenly, we lose a member from this special group, and we all feel it. One week ago, this close-knit Siberian Husky commumity lost one such friend—Kerry McBrearty, a Husky hu-mom to three of her own and a rescue advocate, was one of those special, kind and thoughtful folks. He...

These beautiful personalized candles are lit for my beloved FiveSibes: Harley, Gibson, Wolf, Bandit, and Chloe on this Winter Solstice, the shortest day and longest night of the year—the official beginning of Winter, a Siberian Husky's favorite season! The story is told that when our beloved Siberian Huskies and sled dogs journey to north of the Rainbow Bridge, upon their welcome, they receive a beautiful Silver Harness. This special harness frees them of their earthly pain, and allows them to run across those forever snowy fields healthy and free and happy again, with the Northern lights dancing above them.    I have a special bond with my own five that has a direct link to snow and rainbows and clouds...to me, a quick unexpected snow squall means they are near, having some amazing snow zoomies up in the heavens, stopping abruptly to send down a heavy squall to say hello, and just sometimes, they will shine a rainbow in my direction or a zoom by in a fleeting shape in the cl...

   The Mighty "Quinn" of the White Dog Army & his Hu-Mom, Susan Sehi-Smith     by Dorothy Wills-Raftery     As part of National Epilepsy Awareness Month , I am highlighting some truly amazing Epi-Stars all month long. This post was going to be about a special little white dog named The Mighty "Quinn," however, after I just sadly learned last night of the passing of Quinn's hu-mom, Susan Sehi-Smith, an incredible human, a fellow blogger, friend, dog-parent, and tireless advocate for both animals and people, I've decided that this Epi-Star is for both Quinn and Sue.   With this being Election Day, and it's Epilepsy Awareness Month, and a lunar eclipse, I thought about the timing of Sue's sudden passing. It's as though the universe was preparing for their newest angel. And, tonight, while I was watching The Canine Epilepsy Summi t finale on Zoom by VetVine and the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, I couldn't...