Guess what? We saved TWO furry faces!

by Dukago on June 25, 2012 in I heart PDX, Random Acts of K8 with No comments

Thank you SO much to all those that donated to my 500 faces campaign. I surpassed my goal of $1000 and reached a grand total of $1,021.00 all in support of the Velvet Assistance Fund and Stray and Wildlife Fund at DoveLewis Animal Hospital. All-in-all the campaign raised more than $40k for Dove in a little over 1 month. Not bad. Just goes to show how supported and loved Dove is in the community. I couldn’t have done it without your support. Thank you!

Next year, let’s make it $80K. :)

Peace and Paws!

 

Saving 500 faces for DoveLewis. Together, we can make it happen.

by Dukago on May 24, 2012 in I heart PDX, Karma with 1 Comment
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I have been on the DoveLewis Ambassador Board for a little over 3 months now.  For those people that know me, they know that very rarely do I rally behind a cause with such passion and vehement evangelism unless I truly and honestly believe in the cause and the organization.

I can tell you right now, I believe in DoveLewis.

DoveLewis is more than an outstanding, state-of-the-art, 24-hour veterinary critical care facility in NW Portland. To me, DoveLewis is the embodiment of the Portland pet scene. One of the many, many reasons I love this great city is because of how much people love their pets up here – and I do mean L-O-V-E. DoveLewis not only provides extraordinary veterinary care, but more than that, they work beyond the scalpel and stitches with an unwavering dedication to the animals of our community. With amazing, wrap around programs like the Velvet Assistance fund that helps provide emergency veterinary care to low-income families or the nationally recognized and acclaimed Pet Loss Support and Animal Assisted Therapy programs, DoveLewis has literally spent the last 39 years straight developing a legacy of loving animals and supporting the human-animal bond.

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Project Sparkle: 100 days of Happiness

by Dukago on May 11, 2012 in Project Sparkle with No comments

Project Sparkle Day 100/100

I did it. Today marks the final post in 100 days of Project Sparkle 2.0.

On February 2,  I vowed to spend the next 100 days dedicated to the simple idea of acknowledging and capitalizing on my own  small,  isolated snippets of happiness. I started with a single picture of the sunrise over the Willamette River and with that illuminating image, Project Sparkle 2.0 was born.  Nothing more than a simple commitment to identifying happiness, Project Sparkle grew from a single vow to a self-affirming realization that I alone have the ability to allow myself to be happy.

Sure, life still sucked now again throughout my 100 days of  Project Sparkle. I didn’t expect an overnight transformation in the universe. What I did expect though, was a shift in mentality. A revolution in my state of consciousness and in my ability to roll with the punches and appreciate everything that life has to offer, the good with the bad.

On this day, the last day of Project Sparkle 2.0, the image comes courtesy of a good friend Haley and her pup Agape. I think that this picture pretty much sums up what I have learned through Project Sparkle.

People come and go, life happens and things change. Nothing is the same today as it was yesterday and it won’t be the same tomorrow… not even me. All I can do is be happy with the way things are today and learn to appreciate the little things in life, like soap and air.

 

Thank you for taking this journey with me, friends. May your life be full of sparkles.

Project Sparkle: A man and his dog

by Dukago on May 10, 2012 in Project Sparkle with No comments
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Project Sparkle Day 99/100

There is a man that rides the train every day with a little black and white chihuahua dog. The dog snuggles up in the man’s lamp and sleeps, seemingly unaware of the people around him and completely unfazed by the undulating sways and rocking of the train ride. I don’t know if I have ever seen a dog so peaceful and quiet and perfectly content with being with his person – with being there for his person. From the look of this man, it seems like his life has been and probably still is a little harder than the average man. Regardless, I bet you this man loves that dog. Maybe more than he has ever loved anything or anyone else in his life.

I don’t think that there are enough words that can express and accurately convey the nature of the bond between people and pets. Its inexplicable. One of those things in life that you can’t define but you know is honest and true and touches you at the very depths of your soul. I feel this way every time I see this man board the train with this little dog and it makes me happy to know that even as unlikely a pair it may seem, that they have each other.

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Project Sparkle: Having a Cause

by Dukago on May 9, 2012 in Project Sparkle with No comments
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Project Sparkle Day 98/100

I am a natural born evangelist. I know the word “evangelist” has a religious connotation but that isn’t what I mean. I mean evangelist in the sense that I am a championer, an enthusiastic advocate. I am at my best when I have a cause.

After the devastation of losing a job that I loved, working for a cause I truly believed in… I felt lost. With nothing to pour my heart and soul into it felt like I wasn’t fully present in life, that I wasn’t as fully aware as I should be.

In December, I happened across an opportunity to get involved with a non-profit animal hospital in town. I applied for a position on their Ambassador Board and was accepted. I have been with the group about 4 months and I absolute love it. I am so glad to finally be a part of something that I can believe in again.

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