You are most welcome to my blog and my pet portraits! I do hope you enjoy the various aspects of my life on this blog. I've led a very interesting life so far. I have lived in four different countries. We brought up our children for 7 years of their lives in China, learned to speak Mandarin, and have eaten authentic spicy beef noodles with chopsticks sitting on wooden stalls in noodle shops in remote Chinese cities. I've thrown water at people in Thailand's Water Splashing Festival, done animal-assisted therapy with disadvantaged children, and visited remote villages in North Thailand. I've lived in over 5 different homes in Canada in 7 months, walked the sea wall in Vancouver city, and now live at the foot of the mountains in British Columbia. What about the fourth country? Well, that was the UK where I grew up loving being outdoors in a garden with my father who grew masses of different vegetables, kept a menagerie of animals, and often quoted to me from Winnie the Pooh. Could my life be any more interesting?
Yes! I own dogs, and with them I find life just gets more interesting all the time! In fact, the more I am involved with animals, the more varied and exciting life seems to become! It was having my dog, Jasper, that first prompted me to try my hand at showing dogs for the first time - a completely new and confidence-building experience. It was owning him, with his patient and willing personality that urged me to learn more about dog training,. I found I was not just training him, but training myself and becoming a better person in the process. It was owning Jasper that inspired me to study animal-assisted therapy and train him as a registered therapy dog, becoming the only registered and active therapy dog team in Thailand at the time. We worked with orphaned children, helping them grow in trust confidence and self-esteem. I am sure that I grew in all those things too.
There is no doubt that when treated with the love and kindness they deserve, animals can change us and our lives for the better, forever. I hope on this blog, and in my portraits, you will see a reflection of that. Enjoy!
Sincerely Paws,
Michelle
