Wagaliciousness Begins Here!

Today, can you focus on spreading joy? Can you find ways to delight people you don’t know, probably won’t ever be friends with, and show them you see and appreciate them? 

Why, you ask? Hang on – I’ll spill the beans. First, full disclosure – one of my current dogs is a therapy dog, the third one I’ve had the privilege of living with in my 40+ years of owning dogs. There’s something quite special, calming, and joyous about a therapy dog that they’re born with. You can train behaviors – therapy dogs are born with a heart and ability to connect that’s stronger than the normal dog. 

There’s a holiday today inspired by a therapy dog. Since 2017, August 22^nd has been designated as “Never Bean Better Day,” named after Bean, a medium-sized Golden Retriever who lived and warmed hearts in Morgantown PA.  If you saw the Animal Planet show “The Haunted” Bean played Riley, the dog who could see ghosts and used his famous wooo wooo to announce a sighting. Between Never Been Better Day 2022 and to...

Let’s talk about happiness today, and how difficult it is for scientists to even define it, much less quantify it for us. A focus on happiness has been in the news so much that now its shadow twin, toxic positivity, is making headlines. In this post, happiness is being discussed as one of the large range of emotions that humans feel. It’s nice to feel happy, and not mandatory nor even possible to feel happy all the time. That’s a completely unrealistic goal. What is realistic is for you to learn how to soothe yourself so you can make yourself happier when you choose.  

First, what’s the official working scientific definition of happiness? 

According to Sigmund Freud, happiness has two components: “the absence of pain and unpleasure,” and “the experience of strong feelings of pleasure.” Not much to argue with there, and yet it’s not a satisfying definition, because that definition chases its own tail. According to that definition, to be happy means to not be in pain and to be ex...

About 120 years ago a phrase came into being: “get out of the doghouse.” If a couple had a fight and one locked the other out of the house, unless there was a barn on the property, the only shelter was likely to be the family dog’s house. Hence, a bid for forgiveness was characterized as a bid to get out of the doghouse.

Humans have a difficult relationship with the concept of forgiveness. We get irritated by the behaviors of others every day in small ways, and sometimes even suffer hardship, hurt, or loss through the actions of others. Both the small slights and the larger ones spark a level of negative emotion pointed toward the perceived perpetrator. Behavioral scientists agree there are at least two components to forgiveness, emotional and behavioral, and while there’s not a lot of research on them, it’s likely that most acts of forgiveness include a blend of both. Let’s look at two examples where an offense is given, and forgiveness might be offered:

1. You’re driving to work in
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Do you have to deal with someone who’s difficult? Maybe angry, defensive, egotistical, greedy – whatever they are, they just suck the life out of you?

Instead of dreading your interactions with them, try this – feel compassion for them.

Can you imagine going through life knowing that people don’t like you very much? And believe me, they know! Think of them as kind of broken, because in a way they are.

When you can feel for them instead of against them it helps you feel better. And maybe the interactions with them will go better, too!

I’m Sandy Weaver and just like Kacey, I love veterinarians!

Self-confidence is something a lot of people struggle with – you, too, sometimes?

We are usually much harder on ourselves than on the people in our lives. That’s a habit developed in childhood and it doesn’t serve us well at all – listening to all that negative self-talk in your head guts your self-confidence.

Try this to build yourself back up – once a day, focus on something that you did really well that day or the day before and feel the pride of a task well-done.

If you journal, make this part of your journaling routine. If you practice regular affirmations or meditation, make it part of that time. Focus on success and feel your self-confidence soar.

I’m Sandy Weaver and just like Kacey, I love veterinarians!

Do you sometimes feel like, no matter what you do, that you’re not making a very big difference in the world? Trust me, you’re wrong about that – here’s what’s really going on.

Our strengths and talents feel very natural and organic to us, so we take them for granted. It’s easy for me to distill brain research into concepts most people can easily grasp, and it’s easy for you to visit with a patient and feel the things that could be wrong with them even though they can’t speak words to you.

You make a difference for your patients, for their owners, for your team, for your family and friends and everyone you touch in life.

You matter, because no one else can do what you do with the heart and soul you pour into doing it.

I’m Sandy Weaver and just like Kacey, I love veterinarians!

Do you ever look at other veterinarians and think they’re so much more together than you are?

I love my veterinarian a lot and hope she doesn’t do that, and hope you don’t either.

You never know what’s going on inside another person’s head, heart and life, though humans like to think you know. You don’t.

What looks calm, cool and collected on the outside could be full of conflict and consternation on the inside. You can admire someone and want to be like them – just beware of comparing yourself to them, because you’re not walking in their Crocs.

I’m Kacey and I love veterinarians!

Did you know that a goal is just an excuse to grow and learn?

Mom’s goal for me is to compete in rally obedience by the end of this year. I like that goal because there’s cheese involved and I get to play games with her.

What’s really happening when you’re reaching for a goal is that you’re stretching your knowledge and creativity and belief in yourself, and that’s all good!

So go ahead – set a goal. Just remember it’s the journey to the goal that really lights your fire, so enjoy every step along the way.

I’m Kacey and I love veterinarians!

Got a client coming in today that you dread seeing?

Maybe they’re difficult, or maybe they’re a close-talker, or maybe they just don’t know when it’s time to stop playing, like my Poodle brother. Give that boy some Ace, already!

Anyway, when you know you have to spend time with someone you don’t love spending time with, try this – make up a story about why they are the way they are. Make it a tale of woe, like something bad happened to them in childhood that caused them to be how they are.

Convince yourself that the story is true, because when you do, you’ll feel love and compassion for them instead of irritation or dread.

I’m Kacey and I love veterinarians!

How do you respond when someone criticizes you or wants to argue?

Sometimes that squirrel sits up on the fence and chews me out – man, that frosts my fur!!

It’s really easy to get defensive or to argue – instead, memorize these words and use them as needed – “thank you for your input – I’ll consider it.”

You have acknowledged that you heard them and have NOT agreed to what they’re saying, just that you’ll consider it.

You might consider it garbage, but hey, you still considered it!

I’m Kacey and I love veterinarians!