Basenjis and a Journey South

 Good Morning, 

    Have any of you ever moved far away from where you grew up? Did you bring a pet with you? How did you get past your anxieties? 

    I won’t be moving just yet necessarily but becoming a snow bird. This is going to be my special journey from here up north to way down south. Basically as far south in the US as you can get, just outside the Everglades. It’s really a place out of my wildest dreams with alligators (yes, I adore alligators—just not where my dog is involved), subtropical plants and weather, and thunderstorms. The most important reason I’m going though is because my boyfriend lives there. He’s a very special person who has stayed with me through thick and thin.  

   Despite my anxieties (mostly about my dog’s wellbeing), I’m very excited. I just wish that I could get my extremely disorganized mind to help me arrange my plans a little bit better. How do you organize yourself when you have anxiety and/or ADD? And do you have any advice on how to prepare a pet for long travel? Especially a dog with anxiety.

P.S. Pet Anxiety …

    Do any of you with anxiety notice that your pets (whether cats or dogs) seem to show similar patterns of nervousness? My dog, Thor is very jumpy. He wasn’t like that as a puppy but appears to have grown into it after about a year of age. He is less social despite me introducing him to everyone, every dog, and bringing him to puppy classes. I mean, I guess it’s pretty obvious that my anxiety has rubbed off on him… but to what degree? And how can I help him now that I’m starting to get my anxiety under control? 

    I have always been hesitant about the typical styles of training for many reasons. Firstly because it looks to be punishment-driven but also because Thor is a Basenji and this breed is notoriously stubborn and independent. They are also known for not adhering to typical training methods. I’ve always had a lot more luck with reward-based training. It’s just that his anxiety definitely gets in the way.

    Do any of you have a basenji? What sort of training methods and rewards do you use? How do you exercise them and their minds? Thor enjoys puzzle boxes and doing his tricks, but I’d also like to learn more about scent work as he’s very driven by smells. Does anyone do this? 

    Working and playing with Thor makes me happy and I think he’ll have a lot of fun in Florida. I am very excited especially to watch him greet my boyfriend when he gets home from work in the afternoon. That will be such a small thing, but something to look forward to each day that’s bursting with joy.

A Journey Towards Happiness, Success, and Inspiration…

 …One Step at a Time.

    I’m completely new to blogging. I used journals on art websites somewhat infrequently. Keeping up with posts was always difficult for me because I have ADD like… oh so badly. This year however is a little different.

    I’m beginning to feel like a real live human again after struggling for many years with sickness. I will be taking a very special journey with a very special someone, and I’m becoming more inspired by the day. Before I got really sick, I used to draw, paint, and take photographs constantly. I have literally hundreds of thousands of photographs and I can’t even count how many files of various sketches and .clip, .procreate, and other art program files that DropBox won’t let me preview. Obviously, as I got sicker, it became harder to draw and take pictures. It also became less fun simply because being sick is depressing. 

    Depression. I personally feel like being depressed is worse than any physical pain I’ve ever had. Do you agree? How does it compare for you? Honestly, I would rather have any surgery twice in a row than have bouts of depression. With that said though, being constantly sick and disabled can definitely make you sad. 

    But I digress. The reason that I, someone who knows basically nothing about blogging, wanted to give it a try, is because of depression. Or rather, the opposite: HAPPINESS. I want to create a blog about my beloved dog, my, adventures, and art… about my own pursuit to find myself and build true happiness in the hopes that you’ll come with me and do the same. 

~ Happiness is a Basenji in a kiddie pool ~

    I want to make a little corner that, when you arrive you feel warm and comforted. A community that, when you leave you have more confidence, hope, and joy than when you came in. I hope you can leave here able to find inspiration and happiness in the little things you may have overlooked before. Adventure is all around you, you just have to make it exciting. 

~ Thor: just chilling on the porch with my chewie ~ 

Just Me and my Basenji

 I’m just sitting here testing out Blogger and this template while my beloved Basenji chews his chewie :)