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How Do You Know What's Best for Your Pet? · Happy You. Happy Dog.

0:00
Coco Moon: Hello, darling. Welcome back to Happy You Happy
0:04
Dog. Before we begin today, I just want to say thank you.
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Thank you so much for all the love surrounding last week's
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episode. Sharing those memories of my late son Ko was incredibly
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personal, and your love and kindness mean more to me than I
0:26
can put into words. I'm so grateful you are here with me.
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Now I want to talk about Hoku, my tabby cat. Some of you might
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have seen him pop up in earlier episodes, he's the eldest of the
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bunch, and he kept his mama on her toes a little bit last week.
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Oh, my Hoku! First, you need to understand something about this
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boy. Hoku is very food motivated, and when I say very,
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I mean very. I've actually called him my emotional eater
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before. This boy doesn't eat because he's hungry. Well, I'm
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sure sometimes he is hungry, but I'm convinced he also eats
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because eating is one of his favorite hobbies, he could be
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sleeping peacefully somewhere at the opposite end of the house,
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and the second I walk into the kitchen, there he is, Hoku. I
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mean, how does he know? Does he have some kind of built-in
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kitchen severance insist him, and he doesn't just show up. Oh
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no, he hops right onto the counter, looks at me with those
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adorable eyes, and very affectionately asks, "Mama, and
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he actually says, "Mama, I've tried so many times to record it
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just to prove it, which obviously translates to "Are we
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eating? Apparently, in Hoku's world, Mama entering the kitchen
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means the restaurant is Officially open, 24 hours a day,
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seven days a week. No reservations required. Honestly,
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some days I feel like I'm running a very exclusive
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restaurant for four extremely high maintenance customers. Last
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week I noticed something. My little food enthusiast wasn't
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quite as enthusiastic about his meals, and that was very unusual
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for Hoku. He is nine and a half years old now, and I know that
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as our animals move through different stages of life, their
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needs, behaviors, and routines can change. But when something
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changes in one of my babies, I notice, especially when it's
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something that has always been such a big part of who they are,
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but don't worry. Hoku is very much back to himself now, and I
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think this is something so many of us pet parents understand.
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Our far babies can't sit us down and say, I haven't been feeling
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quite like myself lately. Or, mommy, my tummy's been a little
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boo-boo. Or, even I'm not just hungry today. Don't worry, mama.
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Wouldn't that be nice? Tell me what's going on, and Mummy will
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take care of it. No. Instead, we are left studying their little
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signs, their appetite, their energy, how they are sleeping,
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how they are moving, how they are behaving, and yes, their poo
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and pee. Oh, don't even get me started on that again. If you
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listen to episode eight, you already know that Manas daily
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poop has an extraordinary amount of influence over my emotional
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well-being. A perfect poop, wonderful. Oh, it's. well. Too
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soft, different color. Oh no! What happened? What was her
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dinner last night? Is she sick? Oh, don't you act like it's
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gross! I know most of you are naughty, right? But here's the
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thing: underneath all those ridiculous little things we do,
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there is something very real. We love these little beings so
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much, and we know their lives are shorter than ours, much
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shorter than we wish they were. Sometimes that thought alone is
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enough to keep me awake at night, because I want them here,
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healthy, happy, safe, for as long as possible, and I think
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one of the hardest parts of loving our fur baby is knowing
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that they depend on us to notice when something isn't right. So
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of course we pay attention, and you know what? Sometimes I am so
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glad that I am too much. There is a Japanese expression I love,
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"iki ichiyu. It means going back and forth between joy and worry
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over every little thing. And darling, if that doesn't
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describe pet parenting, I don't know what does. One day
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everything looks wonderful. The next day, one tiny thing
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changes, and suddenly we are questioning every decision we've
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ever made. Are we feeding them the right food? Is the food boat
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the right height? Is their bed too soft, too hard?
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Are they happy? Should we be doing Something differently, and
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then of course we open the internet. The internet, a
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tsunami of information, and that, darling, is where things
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can get even more complicated, Because sometimes the more we
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try to learn, the less confident we feel, and that's what I want
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to explore with you today-not how to stop worrying about our
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babies, because clearly I haven't figured that one out,
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but how we can become more informed, more mindful, and more
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confident in the way we care for these little souls we adore so
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much. So let's talk about that tsunami of information, because
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here's something I find fascinating. We have access to
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more information about caring for our fur babies than ever
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before, and somehow, so many loving pet parents feel less
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confident than ever. Think about it. You notice your dog is
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scratching a lot, so naturally you want to find out what's
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going on. You go online, and within five minutes, you found
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70 possible explanations, 12 different supplements, six
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miracle products, and at least three people telling you
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everything you've been doing is wrong. Right? One person says
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it's the food. Another says it's allergies. Someone says you
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should change the shampoo, and then someone else says, "Oh, you
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should never use that shampoo. And there you are. You started
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out with one question, and now you have 37 new ones. And of
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course, all those recommendations come with such
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confidence. This is what your dog needs. Every cat should eat
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this. Never feed your pet that, or feed them this. It's
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exhausting, I know. And it can be especially overwhelming when
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every piece of advice seems to come from someone who genuinely
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believes they are helping. Now, don't get me wrong, I love that
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we have access to information. I've learned wonderful things
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from books. Research fellow animal professionals and other
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pet parents, but here's what I've come to understand:
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information is not the same as understanding, and understanding
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what is happening is not always the same as understanding why,
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and what works beautifully for one pet may not be appropriate
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for another, because our four babies aren't all the same. They
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have different personalities, different histories, different
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sensitivities, different needs, and they live with different
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families, with different lifestyles and ways of caring
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for them, and even with the same household. I mean, just look up
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my own household, four completely different little
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fairy personalities. Hoku likes his food soft and moist. Soda
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loves freeze dry rabbit, but add warm water like the instructions
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tells you to. Absolutely not. And then Haru, oh, that boy
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would try to steal bacon steak and potato chips, and Mana,
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well, Mana pouts because she thinks her cat brothers are
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getting girl maintainers, and she is being terribly neglected.
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Four four babies, one mamma, and four very different opinions
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about what's for dinner. So why would we assume there is one
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perfect formula for every pet, and I want to share something
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personal with you. I've been looking at pet wellness through
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a more holistic lens for about 10 years now. I'm also a
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certified animal naturopath, and one of the biggest shifts in my
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own journey, was learning to look beyond an isolated symptom
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and consider the whole being. Years ago, if one of my babies
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developed an issue, my attention would often go straight to that
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particular problem, tear stains. Let's find something for that
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tear stains, an upset tummy. Let's address the tummy,
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policing, itching. The list goes on. And of course, sometimes an
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individual symptom needs immediate attention. But over
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time I became much more interested in understanding the
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why. What has changed? When did it start? How are they eating,
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moving, and behaving? And what else might be happening in their
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everyday lives? That broader perspective changed the way I
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care for my fur babies, because sometimes a symptom is only one
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piece of that story, and understanding the bigger picture
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can help us make more informed decisions. Of course, that
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doesn't mean ignoring symptoms or delaying necessary medical
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care. It means being curious, being observant, and looking at
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the whole being.
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And yet, even with all that understanding, it's still so
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easy to get caught chasing the perfect solution, the perfect
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nutrition, the perfect care, the perfect supplements, the perfect
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everything, and I think sometimes, without even
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realizing it, we begin trusting every new recommendation more
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than our own observations. Let me ask you something: Have you
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ever changed something that was actually working well for your
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fur baby, simply because someone convinced you there was
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something better, or perhaps you've experienced the opposite.
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You've tried 100 different things, and nothing seems to be
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helping. That can be very overwhelming, and sometimes.
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Heartbreaking, because underneath all that searching,
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you're just trying to help the fur baby you love so much. I've
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certainly questioned my decisions after hearing a very
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convincing recommendation, but I've learned to ask myself
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something different now. Is this actually appropriate for my
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babies? Not every dog, not every cat, not the animal in the viral
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video, my baby, because no. nobody spends every day caring
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for my fur babies the way I do, I know their personalities,
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their preferences, their normal behaviors, and their energies,
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and that knowledge matters. It doesn't mean I know everything.
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It means I have something valuable to bring to every
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decision I make about their care, and that brings me to
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something I think we don't talk about nearly enough: the
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well-being of the human who's doing all this caring, because
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when we are constantly questioning ourselves,
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constantly feeling that whatever we are doing might not be
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enough, what happens to us? Now let's talk about that, my love.
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Think about it, darling. We make sure our four babies get luxury
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naps, but are we getting enough rest? When was the last time we
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thought about whether we feel joyful, peaceful, happy, and
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well taken care of, and I know sometimes we may feel we don't
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have the time for ourselves, or there are too many people, too
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many things to take care of before we even get to ourselves.
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I know, believe me. I'm not suggesting we all need to wake
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up at five in the morning, meditate for an hour, drink
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green juice, do our makeup and hair, and somehow become
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perfectly balanced human beings. Oh no, that's not happening to
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me. But here's what I've come to appreciate: our well-being
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matters too. Not just because we're the ones taking care of
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our fur babies, but because we are sharing a life together. How
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far babies experience the day with us, our voices, our moods,
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the environment we share, and yes, sometimes they respond to
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changes in how we are feeling too. Now, does that mean we have
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to be happy and peaceful every single day? Absolutely not. We
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are human. We worry. We get tired. We cry. But what if
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creating a happy home wasn't about doing everything
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perfectly? What if it began with simply becoming more aware of
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the lives we are sharing? That's actually part of what inspired
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something I've been creating. First way, like Feng Shui, but
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with if you are, it's my way of bringing together holistic pet
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wellness, thoughtful living, and the beautiful relationship we
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share with our fairy companions. And at its heart is a question I
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love: What would a happier, healthier home feel like for
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both of us? Not what everyone else says it should look like,
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not what the latest trend tells us to do, but what actually
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supports and elevates the lives we're sharing with these
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particular little beings we adore, and I think that's a
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conversation worth having, because sometimes the most
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meaningful changes begin when we stop looking everywhere else for
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answers and start. Are paying closer attention to the life
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right in front of us, and there is something else I love for us
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to explore next week. How do we know when to trust what we are
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noticing about our fur babies, and when it's time to seek
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another perspective, because loving our babies with all our
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hurts and feeling confident about the decisions we make for
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them are not always the same thing. Before we wrap up today,
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I'd love to invite you to take just a little moment each day
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this week to notice how you are feeling and how your fur baby is
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doing, and perhaps write it down or put it in your phone's notes
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app.
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Maybe just choose one word for yourself, or even an emoji,
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peaceful, tired, happy, stressed, left, and one little
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observation about your fur baby: playful, relaxed, extra cuddly,
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or maybe a little grumpy. And I personally would add pooted, but
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that's just me, darling. We are not trying to analyze everything
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or find something wrong. We are simply practicing mindful
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awareness, and who knows, you might begin noticing little
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things you hadn't paid attention to before. Now I think it's time
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to ask our fur babies what they will like us to know this week.
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This week's card from my love messages from your pet oracle is
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Ayu Z Zad. Oh, I love this. Perhaps they are reminding us
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that sometimes, in the middle of worrying, researching, and
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trying so hard to do everything right, we can give ourselves a
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little moment of peace. Not because everything has to be
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perfect, but because we deserve to enjoy this beautiful little
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life we are sharing with them too. I love to hear what you and
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your fur baby discovered together this week. Until then,
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take gentle care of yourself and your precious one, because your
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happiness matters.