Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely and the unwanted
according to the graces we have received and let us not be ashamed or
slow to do the humble work.

- Mother Teresa

About Me

My photo
Sunny Florida, United States
I am the proud mom to 6 kids: Natasha, 24, Nikolai, 20, Reese, 20, Maylee, 14, Erik, 10 and Violet, 7. The kids come from Russia, Ukraine and China; I'm so proud of my family sometimes I think I'll burst and I needed an outlet for it - so I've created this weblog. :o)
If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one.
- Mother Teresa

Motivation for Moms

________________ Add this to your site
One of the greatest diseases is to be nobody to anybody.
Mother Teresa

My Blog List

Saturday, September 1, 2012

PostHeaderIcon Bark Therapy

4:41 PM | Posted by Missy | Edit Post
Ever since I started on my weight loss journey (well, after I started recovering from last Christmas' surgeries, anyway), I've wanted to start exercising.  The Body By Vi shakes that I started taking at about that time gave me SO much energy I just wanted to go, go, GO! but I couldn't, because of the  radiation burns on my abdomen (long story - those of  you who know me know it).  The burns finally healed, but then the worst one's scar gave me trouble and only just NOW am I fit to exercise!!  It no longer hurts to twist or move, though it still does to bend, but that's no problem.
 
ANYWAY, I have a new motivation to walk now.  Bark Therapy.  Yes, Bark Therapy.  Not because *I* bark, but because my adorable, sweet, loving little troublemaking Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Mary, barks!  TOO MUCH!!  She has become quite the yapper, causing some stress in our house.  We don't really know why she is such a yapper, because her mentor, Daisy (our Boston Terrier) never, ever barks, and that example was not set for her when she was a pup, so we figure it must just be genetic.  Lucky us. 
 
Anyone who has ever seen the Dog Whisperer on TV knows that one way that Cesar Milan fixes dog behavior issues is by exercise (in fact, his motto is "Exercise, Discipline, Affection: in that order!"), and NOT by a simple romp in the backyard.  No, the man makes his clients get off their butts and GO FOR A WALK.  I've read his books, and he gives the reason but that is not the purpose of this post.  The purpose of this post is Bark Therapy.  I am counting on Cesar's teachings to get Mary to SHUT UP.  
   
I, for two weeks, am committing myself to walking this dog over and back on the Titusville Bridge every other day and see if this calms her down so that her barking is under control. 
...and, it's good for me, too!
 
So start off.  There is no one else walking at the time, which is kinda nice.  It's hot, but not terribly hot (at least by FL standards), and there's a great breeze going.  The view is spectacular (that's the Kennedy Space Center over there), and there's a fantastic concrete barrier between the pedestrian lane and the road, which is GREAT cause it lets Mary walk in the shade the entire way!  She can't even see the cars (nor can they see her) because of this partition going each direction.  I'm as happy as a lark at this point.  Initially, I was going to only go up to the top, then turn around, but it was so easy that I decided to go the whole way; go down to the bottom, cross over and make my way back on the other side of the road, since there was the partition there, too.

After awhile, Mary got a little fed up with the whole thing and started complaining.  She wasn't used to all of this walking, or the noise, or any of it!  But we kept on. 

The way over wasn't steep at all, but the other side was much steeper.  Not sure why the engineers (or whoever) designed it like that, but they did.  See the nifty barricade on the left?


(shaky legs; giving Mary a rest)Okay, so we got down to the bottom and crossed over.  As we were starting the climb on the return, I started getting tired.  Uh, oh...  Half way up the bridge, my legs just decided they were done.  I had to stop.  My legs were shaky, wobbly, quivering, you fill in the blank.  I was tired.  Meanwhile, I had to carry Mary for awhile cause she was just so tired, poor baby!  Good thing she only weighs 11 pounds.  Somehow, probably sheer will, I made it to the top of the bridge and staggered down the other side to the car.  Wanna know how I felt??


Yeah, I was tired.  But you know what?  It was a GOOD walk.  A very good walk.  Everything about it was perfect (other than the cars zooming by, I suppose).  Even Mary heeled BEAUTIFULLY - she was perfectly well-behaved!!!  We both guzzled down some water in the car and headed home.  Get ready, Mary!!  We're doing it again on Monday!!  Your Bark Therapy has just begun...

1 comments:

eliz said...

Good job!!! Wish I could come too! What an interesting walk! :o)
(((HUGS)))

September 11, 2012 at 9:34 PM

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Please donate

<div align="center"><a href="http://reecesrainbow.org/81148/sponsorvoigts" title=""><img width="100%" src="http://i1215.photobucket.com/albums/cc502/ReecesRainbow/fspvoigts.png" style="border:none;" /></a></div><div align="center"><a href="http://mylittlestarfishes.blogspot.com/" title="">Grab This!</a></div>

If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap.
If you want happiness for a day, go fishing.
If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune.
If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.
- Chinese proverb
It is not the will of your Father that any one of these little ones should perish. Matt. 18:14

Whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. Matt. 18:5

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

My family

My family
Nikolai, Mark, Missy, Reese, and Erik

Nikolai, 19

Nikolai, 19

Reese, 19

Reese, 19

Erik, 9

Erik, 9

Daisy

Daisy

Mary

Mary

Friends that follow our blog

Labels

How many have visited us?

Who has visited lately?

Designed by MMT Enterprises - Template Designs.