It's A Wrap!

As I bring March to a close, I promised I would post the list of Orange Roads for the dream of working with animals. This list was compiled from a very informal survey I took on facebook. The point is simply that when you ask, "Where can I go?" The Orange Roads rise up to meet you! Ask! Ask! Ask!

Here's the list:

Safari Guide

(Domestic or International) Animal Rights Advocate

Animal Dietitian

Parasitologist

Captive Animal Enrichment Specialist

Animal Biologist

FDA Inspector

Veterinarian

Groomer

Pet Sitter

Animal Chiropractor

Dog Walker

Animal Trainer

Zoo Keeper

Farmer

Dog Show Handler

Dog Shoe Helper

Jockey

Rehabilitation Specialist

Animal Educator

Guard Dog Trainer

Therapy Dog Trainer

Pet Psychic

Pooper-Scooper

Ecologist

Zoo Management

Wildlife Specialist

Forest Ranger

Habitat Design

Conservation Manager

Be A Sponsor - Orange Road #9

Every time I discover another Orange Road on the subject of bringing animals into your life, I find it leads me to two more! This one could be an initial step for someone who needs a little more prep time to actually prepare to get animals in their life. Sponsor an animal for someone who is ready to embrace and love that dog, cat, horse, or even a fish!

Sponsoring an animal can be as informal as getting a pet for someone who really wants one to providing ongoing support in terms of food and regular veterinary care. That gift will be the gift that keeps on giving for both (or all) of you!

Just For Fun!

California has been getting slammed with rain! We are at 130% rainfall for this year and our snow is equally abundant it the Sierras. I can't help but think of the biblical story of Noah's Ark.

"God saw how great wickedness had become and decided to wipe mankind from the face of the earth. However, one righteous man among all the people of that time, Noah, found favor in God's eyes. With very specific instructions, God told Noah to build an ark for him and his family in preparation for a catastrophic flood that would destroy every living thing on earth.

God also instructed Noah to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, along with every kind of food to be stored as food for the animals and his family while on the ark. Noah obeyed everything God commanded him to do.

After they entered the ark, rain fell on the earth for a period of forty days and nights. The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days, and every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out. As the waters receded, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. Noah and his family continued to wait for almost eight more months while the surface of the earth dried out.

Finally after an entire year, God invited Noah to come out of the ark. Immediately, he built an altar and worshiped the Lord with burnt offerings from some of the clean animals. God was pleased with the offerings and promised never again to destroy all the living creatures as he had just done. Later God established a covenant with Noah: "Never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth." As a sign of this everlasting covenant God set a rainbow in the clouds." Genesis 6:1 - 9:17


From About.com - Christianity.

Become a Foster Parent - Orange Road #8

Many local shelters have foster programs that allow you to be a Foster Parent to a dog, cat, bunny, or even Guinea pig.

My understanding of how these programs work is that you register with the shelter and when they have an animal come in that matches your parameters (size, breed, temperament, etc), they call you to come pick up your house guest. I also know some rescue groups (breed specific) look for foster parents for the animals they are working to place. Many times, fostering is the beginning of growing your family, after all, some of those babies are just too darn precious to let go of! Dave would never let me foster Cocker Spaniels, I would never let them leave!

This is a great way to help our furry friends and do it on a more temporary basis in terms of time and long term commitment. You can always say no if the time is not right for your schedule.

The List is Long! - Orange Road #7

In my research to find all the Orange Roads for how to incorporate working with animals in your life right now, even I'm amazed at how many opportunities there are. I'm going to post the whole list I compiled at the end of the month, but suffice it to say, if you just open your mind and start thinking with, what's available, which are the options I know I can do? you will see how many options there are.

I believe that that which you put your attention on grows, and this just proved it to me again. I have had my eyes peeled for different ways to work with animals and I even noticed a traveling reptile show driving down the freeway! Hey Lisa, do you want to collect snakes, turtles, and lizards and travel around to elementary schools? Smiling!

Become a Dog Show Handler - Orange Road #6

Have you ever had an interest in dog shows? I used to show my horse and I loved show day! The anticipation of the events of the day, the smells of lineaments, coat conditioners, and Show Sheen, a product designed to make a horse darn near sparkle! Everyone was in their finest clothes and of course, horses and their people were groomed impeccably. It was all very exciting.

This is one of those Orange Roads that may feel like you are backtracking or maybe even going the wrong way because this one is a little more extensive. You can start right now by finding out when the next dog show is going to be within driving distance. Start going to shows and watching handlers do their jobs. Pay attention to the dogs that win and think about what that handler did that maybe the others didn't do. Next, you will want to work with a breed you love, for me, it would be Cocker Spaniels. If you can, get a puppy from a breeder and start learning with your own dog. You will learn what the grooming requirements are and you can start teaching your puppy to stand in show pose and use the proper gaits. If you can't take on a puppy of your own right now, this is where you work with someone who can use your help and doesn't mind teaching you. Sign up for an attend classes given my the American Kennel Club. You can find clubs in your area by visiting the AKC website. Work with an experienced handler to find out what exactly paid professionals are responsible for. It's not uncommon for a handler to board the dogs, guide their show careers, train and condition them for exhibition and choose what shows to attend. If you get this far in the journey and find this is for you and you've gained some experience as a professional handler, register with the AKC or with the Professional Handlers Association

Becoming a Dog Show Handler won't be an easy task and to actually start making money doing it will take some time, but it's an Orange Road so roll up your sleeves and enjoy the journey!

Work With Rescue - Orange Road #5

There are many organizations all over the country that rescue animals, all kinds of animals. I know of a woman who takes in all kinds of unusual animals like gophers, birds, chipmunks, and even an elk! You primarily see rescue organizations when there is an oil spill and the wonderful beings who do this work step in and save all the birds coated in oil.

Another organization is Animal Rescue Association of the Americas. This group is the first and only membership association of its kind for the animal rescue community. They represent a mighty volunteer force with a passion for justice and a commitment to bettering the lives of companion animals. If you can't give of your time, you can certainly find organizations like this one to support financially.

As a note, just giving your money would be a last resort in my opinion. It's certainly a great way to help out any number of worthy organizations, but the goal here is to get you living your dream and to me, that means doing. Go get 'em!

Working at a Shelter - Orange Road #4

One of my all time favorite words with regard to IWIL is Volunteer. I will bring this up over and over because it is the number one way to learn what it means to really do what you think you want to do.

For opening a door to working with animals in your life, right now, I would say find a local shelter and go sign up to volunteer. The work may not be pretty or pleasant and it's certain to smell bad, but I bet you will connect with a creature that will steal your heart! You know you can't save them all, dogs, cats, rabbits, chickens, and even a random goat or pot bellied pig, but being there to show love and affection to even one precious creature will make a difference in this world. You will get to know some of the animals and may even feel compelled to help find them homes. You may also learn a little bit about being a veterinary technician or even some training techniques.

When you volunteer, you not only give of your time, you give of yourself. You will always win when you are learning while giving. Visit http://www.spca.org/ to find a shelter near you. If not there, visit the website for the county you live in and see where your local shelter is. Finally, because he is dear to my heart, Patrick McDonnel artist and creator of Mutts gives back to shelters across the country. Visit the Mutts website and you will find a wealth of information and ways to support organizations that take care of our four legged friends. Click here.

What is Intentional Winning in Life?

Intentional Winning In Life - IWIL is the process of bringing your dreams to life right now by thinking about them differently.

So many of us had dreams when we were younger that for this reason or that, we let go of pursuing. Even as adults, things come up that seem exciting or worthwhile, but we believe we aren't qualified, don't have time to learn, don't have the money, or simply don't feel we can reach the goal. Whatever you think, you're right! So if you don't think you can do it, maybe you could think about it in a way that does seem doable to you. Just maybe, there is another way to bring that dream into reality.

Here's an example: Let's say your dream is to go from San Francisco, CA to New York, NY. Most would agree that the fastest, most direct route would be to travel eastbound on highway 80 in one strait shot - the pink road. You'll see a little piece of green on the pink route which is a planned detour where there's a break in highway 80. As we do this, plug in life goals and normal activities that come along the way such as going away to college, getting married, having kids, changing jobs, etc. If you think about each of the events in your life that stop your progress to your dream destination, it's easy to see how we get stalled and eventually "settle down" in Anytown USA along the way. If you look closely at a United States map, you will see that there are hundreds of other roads to get you to New York from San Francisco - the orange roads. Will it take longer? Yes. Will it cost more? Possibly. Will the journey be full of surprises? Absolutely! When you realize that all those other roads can get you where you want to go, you can see that not only can you make your dream come true, but you may also find other things that make you happy and bring you joy along the way.

I'm going to define IWIL more as we continue through this year. I'm also going to show you many things you can do to restart the engine on your dreams and start feeling their joy this very minute!

I Love Horses - Orange Road #3

I love horses! Many young girls love horses and dream of owning one all their own one day. This idea is one I implemented in my own life in my younger days - volunteer at a local stable doing any number of jobs, I can tell you, there are many!

In my experience, a rural area with stables is never far from even the largest metropolitan city. This is one of those Orange Roads that may require more of a time commitment just in drive time, but once you get there and take in all the sights, sounds, and smells (I love the smell of a horse stable!), it will all be worth it.

Many stable owners and people who board their horses that I know are usually open to the idea of help with their animals, even willing to lease their animals or offer co-ownership. Typically, they are busy and their horses are not their full time jobs either. Striking up a friendship and volunteering some of your time to show off your skills will very likely land you in a relationship with a horse of your very own...well, almost!

Keep in mind, this is one of those Orange Roads that will require a higher degree of ongoing commitment. The cool thing is that once you start making a horse a part of your life, so many more doors will open for you. Just go ahead, start and you will see!

Animals - Orange Road #2

I've done some homework and there are many careers that involve working with all kinds of animals ranging from basic part-time, to very exotic requiring years of education. I want to talk about some of those later in the month because if I have readers who are young and just starting out, they may want to know this info.

For now, let's get back to how Lisa can bring a career with animals into her already very full life. Pet Sitting is another way to make some extra money and spend time with animals that are not your kids. Pet sitting can be for dogs, cats, guinea pigs, hamsters, birds, mice, and even fish. A schedule will have to be worked out as to if the animals come to Lisa's house or if she needs to go to them, but this is a way to incorporate working with animals without making a hug shift in her current lifestyle. Some of the other benefits to offering pet sitting services are you can decide when you are taking pets and when you are not. You can also pick and choose which pets you will take and you can set your rates.

I feel it's my responsibility to provide you with a warning about the liability of being a pet sitter and the false sense of security insurance can provide. My beloved Riley was with a pet sitter when he had a deadly accident. It was just that, an accident but my pet sitter had a legitimate pet sitting business, she was insured. As it turned out, because what happened was not her fault, or she wasn't negligent, the insurance didn't cover her or Riley's death. She was as devastated as we were and she felt ripped off as she had paid for insurance for nearly ten years and when she needed it, she learned it was worthless. Had she done something to cause Riley's death, they may have covered her, but we don't know. I am not someone who operates from a place of fear, but I am one who likes to know what's real.

With that said, I think pet sitters are wonderful people who love our pets the way we do while we are away.

"I Want to Work With Animals"

Careers working with animals. The obvious options are Veterinarian, Vet Tech, Groomer, and Trainer. These are all really great options especially if you are young and looking to start your career. Now, let me clarify something right here, right now, I do not believe that age plays into when you can pursue your dreams, but sadly, many people do. This is exactly why I want to present ideas that those who can't leave their primary source of income, can incorporate into their lives right now.

If you are in your forties or fifties and working in your current profession, it's going to take more time, money and likely education to become a veterinarian. There isn't a single reason that I can think of not to do that, but in the mean time let's look at some things that can be incorporated right now, immediate satisfaction is what we are after with Intentional Winning in Life.

The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of Lisa (because I know her), I think of Dog Walker. Here's why this is the top of my list for her; Lisa is very body/health conscious and she adores her dog Mickey. Lisa walks most days anyway so taking on another dog or two for her daily walks is the easiest way to incorporate working with animals and making a little extra money right now. The national pay scale for dog walkers is $9 - $15 per hour. To add a little joy, doing what she's always wanted to do and make a few extra dollars, this is an easy Orange Road.

This is where we start March and I Want to Work With Animals. I plan to toss in some that you expect and a few I think will surprise you. This is going to be fun, and so you know, it's not too late to toss your Dream Not Come True in the mix. Enjoy and welcome to spring!

Welcome To March!

Here we are, starting month three of 2011! As the saying goes, time flies when you're having fun, and I am with Intentional Winning in Life. I love thinking of ways that people can do what it is they really want to be doing, starting right now. It doesn't matter if they have to work full time to pay their bills, I believe there is something they can do right now.

This month we are working on a Dream Not Come True (DNCT) that came from my dear friend Lisa A. Lisa loves her current career but said she has always dreamed of making a living working with animals. I queried her as to what kind of animals and why she had never pursued the dream. She said she loves dogs and horses and felt like her only real option for a career with animals would be to be a veterinarian, to which see continued she didn't have the patience to get the education required. Do you remember when you finished high school? Four or more years of school seemed like an eternity.

That's all water under the bridge because we are all many Orange Roads later, let's get ready to spend this month talking about ways to incorporate working with animals into Lisa's life today.