Tiffany Painter

If anyone were to ask me what my favorite things are I would answer my pets (really all cats and dogs) and books. My son hit the jackpot with the last gift he got me. He found a book about a man who has made it his life’s mission to help the dogs in Thailand. Tina The Dog Who Changed The World by Niall Harbison is the inspiring tale of a dog who Niall found chained up in really bad shape. Tina had been treated horribly by humans and suffered greatly, but her ability to find joy in the short time she had with Niall stirred passion in the people who helped her to keep her spirit alive. It would be easy to get weighed down by the horrible shape so many of the dogs Niall rescued were in, but as an animal lover, I was touched by the spirit of these animals. For a dog to be treated so cruelly and left to die and then be able to still wag its tale and find joy in a tennis ball, that is powerful. So often people face hardships that don’t even compare to what these dogs faced and come out bitter and resentful and only manage to continue spreading evil. These animals can teach their two-legged counter-parts a thing or two about kindness and giving to others. When I look around at the way people treat each other and go about their daily lives full of bitterness because of wrongs they feel have been done to them, wrongs that can’t even compare to what happened to Tina, it makes me really appreciate the spirit of dogs. I know I have a pretty great life, but I’m going to try to be more like Tina and find joy whenever and wherever I can.

5/27

new transportation
waiting for driver to show
morning mystery

6/1

rooted to the ground
strong foundation spread out wide
now reach for the sky

6/4

not invited here
crashing the garden party
bringing all the joy

6/6

round and round we go
avoiding troublesome storms
waiting in the sky

6/7

stepped in a painting
surprise view along my path
picture perfect day