Wishing you a safe, happy and long weekend. Please take a moment to remember those who have given their lives in service to our nation.
Photo credit: John Weiss at http://susuangels.com/pro854051.html
Filed under: animal rescue | Tags: animal rescue, companion animals, getting lucky, homeless animals, labrador, Lucky, pet adoption, shady, shadytales, this good that bad
UPDATE on Lucky-March 23, 2012.
It has been 6 months since Lucky, the 5-year-old owner surrendered Labrador with the golden eyes, came to live with us. She is my sister now and I love her. She is really doing well. So many of you have asked us about her and offered advice, we felt an update was in order.
Regular walks, distraction techniques and the simple passage of time have taken care of a lot of Lucky’s little “quirks.” We are happily eating and playing together these days. We can even share toys and bones and our new favorite treats –genuine moose antlers from Maine(no moose are harmed to get those for us, they harvest the natural sheds).
Lucky is still however hmmm, aaaah, ummm, I know! Let’s say she’s still “a work in progress.” Here’s the thing… She thinks we own the whole entire block. Nobody is allowed to walk by or use their own driveway or anything at all anywhere near our house as far as she is concerned. “No way, get out and stay away”, she says. Oh—and d not even think about ringing our doorbell either. She says this by barking very loudly out any window she can get to and clawing and drooling and slobbering all over the place. It isn’t pretty.
Now, we live in the burbs. There is a lot going on outside our windows now that spring is here. We are enduring this behavior approximately 12 zillion times a day. If there happens to be a couch or a table or a person or even her own dog sister blocking the window Lucky needs, too bad. Lucky is gonna get to it anyway she can. She even got her head stuck in the plant stand recently while trying to get to the point nearest where the neighbor kids were playing ball.
We have disconnected the doorbell and papered over some of the low windows in the house. We are getting a new couch and repainting the whole living room as a result of all this. We’d like to save or house and our sanity. So, what do we do for Lucky?
“Lucky” for us (pun intended) we hit the jackpot (yup, that’s another pun) when we found the “Love and a Leash” blog. The blog chronicles “one family’s adventures in taking a pit bull type dog with a sad past out of a shelter and offering it our love and a six-foot leash.” The author is an experienced pit bull rescuer and we started visiting regularly to enjoy the heart warming stories amazing pet photography she shares. She also talks a lot about “jackpotting” to curb the barking-at-everything-in-sight behaviors.
The idea behind “jackpotting” is that Lucky (and me too, by default because I get what she gets) is going to be getting loaded up on super high value treats when someone walks by the house or when we ring the doorbell to distract her. As we understand it, she’ll start coming to Mom when these things happen instead of the window if we do it right and then we can wean her off the treats (or no, that’s my vote! Keep ‘em coming!)
Have any of you had success with a method like this? And by all means please do check out Love on a Leash’s blog to support their efforts. Her photos, as seen below, will melt your heart, too.
Photo Credit: http://loveandaleash.com
Photo credit: http://loveandaleash.com
Original Post October 2011: And now, without further ado, Mom and I would like to formally introduce you to our newest family member Lucky. Lucky is a 5 year old Labrador, adopted from our local shelter after spending 5 long months there. See, that’s her over there with Mom… (read more and see Lucky’s pic here)
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Filed under: animal rescue, events | Tags: animal rescue, companion animals, dogs, homeless animals, mayzie, mayziegal, pit bulls, pitbulls, rescue me
Want to know a secret? Mom used to be scared of pit bulls. Even after all her years in rescue, she was afraid they were a little too big and a little too much “dog” for her to handle. She never spent any one on one time with pit bulls at adoption events or the shelters. That is until recently…
In our NJ town, the homeless pit bulls are well represented and watched over, so her lack of involvement with the breed never came up. Mom has seen and learned enough to know the stereotypes were not all true but even so, she tended toward the old Labradors like me for fostering and walking. Two weeks ago she applied her knowledge and overcame her hesitation to interact with pits when she was lucky enough to meet and visit a young pit bull named Smokey!
Click this image to find Smokey on Petfinder
Smokey was an owner surrender. His past reads like the story of many surrendered pets of all breeds and types. His family simply did not know what they were getting into by adopting a dog. It wasn’t a good fit and Smokey spent the first few years of his life paying for it with isolation and mistreatment.
Our town is very fortunate to have an experienced, compassionate, fearless and very wise ACO/Shelter manager named Heather, who saw the potential in Smokey. Mom used to volunteer with her back in the days when there was no shelter and she trusts her judgment without question. Mom knew Heather gave him a chance, so she did too. She spent some time with him at an event and is pleased to report Smokey has really blossomed thanks to the devotion of the volunteers there. Heather and her group have a lot of pit experience and they have done the most difficult part; they taught Smokey what it feels liked to be loved and to trust. All he needs now is the right home and someone to believe in him. Are you his new family?
Check out Smokey on Petfinder to read how far he has come or go ahead and call Heather for an update to learn more:
Smokey is a 2-3 year old pit bull who has certainly grown near and dear to our hearts. He came to us as a surrender who purchased him as a puppy just because she thought it was cool to have a pit bull. She did not socialize, train, exercise, or expose him to the outside world during his formative puppy stages and as he began to get older, larger, and stronger he became anxious. Her response to this was to keep him in a crate for the majority of the time and physically abuse him when he was out of the crate…more
Contact Info:
WOODBRIDGE TOWNSHIP ANIMAL CONTROL, Woodbridge, NJ
732-855-0600 X 5007
animal.control@twp.woodbridge.nj.us
RE: Petfinder.com Pet Inquiry: Smokey PFId
Guess what? This is my 100th post! I could not think of a better way to commemorate that than by trying to help a homeless animal stuck in a shelter. This post is part of a contest our friend Mayzie is running called “ Rescue Me Week” and we are not only helping Smokey but hoping to win a donation to the shelter too. Get all the details here: http://mayziegal.wordpress.com/2011/10/27/big-announcement-2/
THANK YOU Grampa J, Mayzie and Mayzie's Mom for sponsoring this contest!
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Filed under: animal rescue | Tags: animal rescue, companion animals, getting lucky, homeless animals, labrador, Lucky, pet adoption, shady, shadytales, this good that bad
And now, without further ado, Mom and I would like to formally introduce you to our newest family member Lucky. Lucky is a 5 year old Labrador, adopted from our local shelter after spending 5 long months there. See, that’s her over there with Mom…
Lucky in a rare shot with Mom, the first ever of her to be seen on this blog.
Mom says Lucky was an owner surrender and she didn’t take to well to life behind bars. Mom went to see her a lot at the shelter as a volunteer and each time Lucky completely destroyed something right before her eyes….her leash, a dog bed, a few toys and even Mom’s shoes while she was still wearing them. Then Mom started walking her and it got worse. Lucky didn’t seem to like other dogs at all and she was pretty indifferent to people. Mom sat in on classes with her when the shelter’s trainer would visit and that didn’t go much better. Still, Mom kept saying she saw something in her. Whatever the something was, it probably showed in her eyes. Even I have to admit her eyes are gorgeous. You can see them better there in her closeup, below.
Mom knew a foster home would be Lucky’s only chance to show her true colors but no one had room for an 80 lb dog that couldn’t get along with other dogs. All she could do was walk her as often as possible and try to exercise her enough so maybe she’d settle down and stop lunging at everyone who approached her. One day Mom took her for a short ride over to the local dog park in an effort to tire her out. Once Lucky was off leash, something very strange happened. Lucky sat. She sat very close to Mom and very still. So Mom started petting her and rubbing her ears and Lucky leaned in even closer.
See her pretty golden eyes?
After a very long sit, Mom realized it was the first time Lucky really noticed her at all. She’d always been so focused on an object or pulling her along on a leash before she never really looked up at her. She seemed to be waiting for Mom to tell her what to do next. So Mom got up and Lucky followed. Then Mom stopped walking and Lucky sat, waiting for the next direction. Before long it was pretty clear Lucky did indeed have manners. She stuck to her person like glue with no leash and knew the basics of fetch (something I have yet to master). She also showed the first signs of knowing her name and coming when called. Off leash and out of a cage, she did not come at you like a ton of bricks and knock you over, either.
Then some other dogs came into the park and Mom figured she’d have to leave. With no leash and a person she probably trusted a little by now, it turned out Lucky got along just fine with the other dogs. So after a few more successful visits to the dog park I think you can guess what happened…Mom brought Lucky home.
When she got here, it seemed like she forgot how to live with people. She had the crate and housetraining stuff down pat (thankfully) but other than that her manners were completely gone. At first we thought maybe she never had any to begin with! She jumped on counters, knocked people over at random, tore at couch cushions, ruined every dog bed and was always looking for something to steal and destroy no matter how much walking and playing we did with her. Mom stared to think the dog park behavior was a fluke.
She also did not like me much. She would not play with me or lay with me and got so mad at mealtimes we had to eat separately. Even with her in another room I was so stressed I could barely eat and started throwing up all the time. Her life here became crate, walk, crate, eat, crate, yard time and then repeat. She was quiet in the crate and good on the walks and in the yard but as soon as she came indoors she turned on us all. It broke Mom’s heart to admit it but looked like we would not be able to keep her very long at all and she’d go back behind bars. It was too much for me and not much of a life for Lucky.
In the middle of all this the shelter flooded (as did our house) after Hurricane Irene and Lucky’s return date kept getting pushed off. In that time Mom really focused on making it so we could eat together because it was taking way too much time to do it separately. After some research, Mom didn’t think Lucky had any real food aggression so she very gradually brought us closer at mealtimes. It worked! Now we can eat in the same room and at the same time as long as we aren’t too close and I get my bowl first. We both finish up pretty fast and wait politely in a sit for the other to finish before exchanging places and bowls for a thorough “hey, did you get what I got” sniffing and licking.
As you may recall I am not “too big” on the outdoors. Lucky however, is much more comfortable there. Trying to recapture the dog she knew Lucky could be (like at the park), Mom started spending hours on the deck with Lucky, just reading and letting Lucky explore or nap. As the weather cooled, I started joining them. Mom was always careful to cater to me and try to convey that I was top dog while we were together. I guess that was the information Lucky was waiting for because soon we were playing tug and wrestling for fun and not position. I can hold my own in tug, keep up with her when she runs around and knock that big girl down with one swipe and she lets me spin her on the deck like a top. Our tails are wagging the whole time. It’s fun!
Oh, she is still stealing stuff and destroying stuff, but she has earned more time out of the crate and into our regular routine now. As
This is me, toughing it out OUTSIDE and approaching with caution...
long as someone is going to be able to keep a close eye on her she can stay out with us. She responds to “no’ quickly but that does not stop her from trying stuff. When Mom isn’t home she definitely has to go in the crate. I stay nearby on my bed which is right next to her. I used to enjoy the breaks from her when she was being all mean and stupid. Now I wish Lucky could stay out with me all the time. She just isn’t ready yet. She is quiet as a mouse in the crate but knocks Mom over EVERY time Mom opens to door to release her. She gets really upset when anyone leaves the house. Since she is more at ease outside than indoors we all spend more time than we used to outside and it does seem to help.
It has been 2 months since she came to live with us. I am trying to set a good example Lucky can learn from so she can get out of that crate once and for all. For now, this will do; she won’t have to go back to the shelter and I have a friend again.
Thanks Mom….
Filed under: Guest Posts | Tags: animal rescue, pet adoption, shadytales, TGTB, this good that bad, Tuesday Larken
We have been so busy at home these days, we almost missed Tuesday Larken’s post this week! When we caught up with her we found that pets are bringing people together in her life as only us well seasoned animals know how to do.
Now, the stuff that is keeping busy is going to be interesting to you too but we are not quite ready for the big reveal. It came on kinda sudden, so we are being extra-specially careful about it. I’ll give you a hint; have any of you ever failed (dog) fostering 101 with your dog? We have. But what about foster 102?
Okay, that’s all the hints for today! We promise not to make you wait too long, but in the meantime please enjoy Tuesday’s post here with us, as she has generously shared yet again.
Sixth Sense (originally posted “One woman’s journal. Every woman’s journey.” 8/16/2011(
I had no idea Adam was such an animal lover. Before we partnered on this marketing and design venture (Polar Design, derived from a combination of our last names), our relationship was that of client and vendor. He is tough on his vendors and I was one of them. We have worked well together for years but we don’t actually know much about each other outside of work ethics and shared client references. He never mentioned his dogs before today.
“Oh yea, I have 3 Labradors.” he says enthusiastically over sushi after I mention my plans to volunteer at the local animal shelter. “They all came from the shelter. There is a special kind of gratitude and devotion you get from the rescues. They know a good family is hard to find, the competition is pretty stiff.” His voice softens as he details their names, ages and back stories. It occurs to me this is the most personal conversation we have ever had. I never would have pegged him for a pet owner at all, let alone such a devoted one.
Adam brings the dogs to his office regularly. Before the check arrives, we decide I should stop in once or twice a week with Bella, my border collie mix. He is working on socializing his youngest pup and it will be good for her to meet a new friend. Bella could use the company too. Since we lost our golden Duke she seems okay, but I don’t want her to get too used to being an only dog. You know, just in case….
I figure Bella sensed Duke’s time was coming and was better prepared than all of us to lose him. I think that makes her lucky. How easy it must be to be so practical like animals are. If I were more practical, I’d understand that I am in danger of overdoing things. This business with Adam is barely off the ground and I have signed on to help my friend Joy write motivational speeches, volunteer at the animal shelter and mentor Adam’s wayward pooch on top of the Polar launch. These additional tasks are purely emotional and if I am not careful, they’ll cost me the business that is supposed to pay the bills. My severance pay will not last forever.
A moment later I understand that some people can sense things just as well as animals. Maybe living with 3 dogs rubs off on you. I have never mentioned my time management challenges to Adam, but he seems to sense he can help with whatever has made my mind wander away from the conversation and knows just what to say. “You know, I have plenty of space. Why don’t you bring Bella and your laptop in for the day twice a week? If the dogs hit it off, you’ll have a quiet place to work and we can plan anything we have to discuss around the times we’ll see each other anyway.”
I politely resist at first. He pays a decent rent and manages his freelance clients there. I’ve never really thought about why he doesn’t do the “work from home” thing before. Could it be that I am not alone in my realization is not all it is cracked up to be? He finally convinces me we’ll try if for a few months and if we like sharing space I can kick in for the rent and officially claim some of the space. Then I can work on whatever I please, whenever I please, in my corner. I already know his hours are erratic. I can easily manage time there alone and when I want company I can have that too. He has a parade of characters and art clients moving through on a regular basis. I bet that will do wonders for my creativity.
As we pay for lunch with our shiny new corporate American Express card and part ways, I find myself looking forward to stopping at the luggage store and getting a nice new laptop case to celebrate. I finally begin to feel a little less like an employee and more like a business owner. A business owner with a partner that has a sixth sense, a big heart and extra office space. That combination just might translate into what I’ll need to accomplish everything I want to do.
Note from Shady: Are any of you working at home or in a dog friendly office?Hey Tuesday…we live nearby so let us know when you are over there with the doggies so I can come by and play too!
Filed under: Guest Posts, pet loss | Tags: animal rescue, good samaritan, homeless animals, pet loss, shadytales, TGTB, this good that bad, Tuesday Larken
Guest post by Tuesday Larken, originally posted 8/9/2011 at
“One woman’s journal. Every woman’s journey.”
Good Samaritan
Why am I still holding her? This is not the dog I want. I want my Duke back. It has been only about a month since my golden retriever passed away and nothing I’ve tried can fill his absence. So why am I holding a shy little black Labrador/terrier mix with two broken legs?
I’ll tell you why…it’s because there is far too much absence to fill. No dog can replace Duke but a new one in my arms, just for a moment, begins to even out the sudden imbalance I am feeling. My job as I knew it is gone. My kids are grown. My husband has a new job that has him out of the house over 12 hours a day. Me and Bella (my Border collie mix) are feeling more than a little left behind.
I have never actually been in an animal shelter. Duke came from a rescue group and they brought him to me. Bella was a stray we took in. When Melissa (you might know her as MelissaBelle) asked me to run this errand for her and drop off some donations, I made it a point to peek in some of the cages. I thought I might meet a dog to take care of me like Duke did. Instead, I met this little midget dog who may need more care than I have left in me to give.
Melissa’s blog posts on pet loss (among other things) have helped me deal with the loss of Duke. I met her on the Fabulously40.com site and we soon realized we lived just a few miles apart. Despite her counsel and that of many other women in the site, I am not over it yet. Just like this little Labrador mix isn’t recovered from her injuries yet. She isn’t up for adoption. There is no hard sell for me to take her home. I was simply asked to go see her because she is shy and they are trying to help her get used to strangers. She has months to go before she’d be ready to go to a new home.
The skittish little dog (I didn’t ask her name -I suspect they are still choosing one for her) was found on the side of the road with 2 broken legs. A Good Samaritan paid for her surgery. They have no idea if she’ll walk again. She probably won’t trust again too readily either. Bella would absolutely hate her, what with her whining and shaking and clinginess and all. Or maybe she wouldn’t; having been on the street herself maybe Bella would be able to ease her fears and let her know there is such a thing as a happy ending. Crap. I cannot believe I fell for this. Is this why Melissa sent me here?
Okay, enough. No no no. I cannot take in another dog now. I cannot take in a second dog in a few months either. That’s just ridiculous. This dog can’t bring Duke back. Or my kids. Or my job. Or my marriage as it once was. So then, as little no-name curls deeper into the hook of my arm, why am I still holding her?
The little black dog in this post is fiction, but she was inspired by Abby who is very real and needs a home. Abby is healed, walking and ready to start a new life with the right family. Click on this image to learn more about her and how you can help. via petswithdisabilities.com
As Shady and I mentioned last week, Tuesday is helping us pick up the slack around here and get our TGTB efforts back on track. Her blog is not just about pets, but family and life after 40. Learn more about her here: it all started when her dog died…
Filed under: dogs | Tags: animal rescue, companion animals, homeless animals, LoJack, Nikki, Tuesday Larken
We recently marked two years since we lost my dog brother, LoJack. Since then, we lost my dog sister Nikki too. Mom always remembers the exact day we lost LoJack because she made the appointment and was so hopeful it would bring him relief in his last days. It was supposed to be an oral exam, but LoJack never woke up from the sedation.
Mom was pretty sad as this grim “anniversary” passed last week but she kept it to herself…no post and no mention to friends or family about it. I was the only one she confided in. She was feeling like after all this time maybe we were the only ones that cared anymore.
Mom should know better. Everyone here misses LoJack. We have met, comforted and been comforted by a lot of our blog readers in the last 2 years too. Lots of people still care and lots of people need still help dealing with pet loss.
As if to prove this point precisely, we made a new friend today. This new friend, Tuesday Larken, has suffered a recent pet loss and when she contacted us the timing was just so perfect that we felt there might be a bigger a reason we met at this time.
Miss Larken has a blog too. She wrote about looking for help with the loss of her dog Duke online and how she found our blog and what it meant to her. If you’d like to read it, and we recommend you do, you can find her post mentioning us here.
Tuesday is going to be helping me and Mom out with our efforts for homeless animals. This is great because we could really use someone to keep us focused these days. She needs something to take her mind off Duke, so you can see the timing of this new friendship is going to be good for Mom and Tuesday. More on how that will work later. In the meantime…
Tuesday has added our Dog Eared Tales blog to her “Pet loss resource” page and she is happy to add any other resources you know of if you tell her about them. She is much more diligent with her blog than we are as she posts a weekly journal. Dealing with the loss of her dog, just as she lost her job and her youngest prepares to go off to college, is a big part of her life now.
We think you’ll like her so if you want to learn more about her and enjoy a regular weekly “read” as well, please visit her site and catch up on her journal entries here. She’ll be making the rounds on your pet blogs soon too!
TuesdayLarken.com
Filed under: dog training, dogs | Tags: animal rescue, fireworks, shady, shadytales, TGTB, this good that bad, thunder, thunder shirt, thundershirt
OK, may I get straight to the point here? What the heck is up with you people and all the FIREWORKS?! There have been almost two weeks now of seemingly non-stop booms, bangs and whistle-y noises in our neighborhood. Enough already!
Thank you to all who have been checking in on my progress during these trying times. At your suggestion, I added a Thunder Shirt to my arsenal of vet prescribed doggie relaxation pills, secret hideouts and distraction techniques to get me through this heinous season.
Me and my Thunder Shirt. Get more info at www.thundershirt.com. No, we didn't get paid to say that, either!
Overall, I give the Thunder Shirt 3 out of 4 paws up (sorry, I don’t have thumbs). It is light weight and comfortable for sure, but I am still a little edgy even with it on during fireworks. It did seem to curb my tendency to shake and chatter, but I was still plenty whiney during most of the “festivities”. For a regular old thunderstorm, when there is no time to prime me with pills, it helped for sure.
Mom says it may begin to work even better the more I use it. She also said it may work better for a dog that tends to want to be held when they are afraid. Me? I am a digger. I will tunnel through the rug, the floor, the door, the closet, looking for the lowest safest place to be. So far nothing works to kill that urge when I am afraid.
If you think this might help your dog, please give it a try. It costs 36 dollars they have a money back guarantee. I may not be cured yet, but I feel a little better with it and every little bit helps.
Hey you know what else works for dogs that are afraid of fireworks? STOP SHOOTING FIREWORKS. Leave it to the Grucci Brothers and don’t have them at your party in your own yard. Seriously. Knock it off.
Filed under: animal rescue | Tags: fireworks, homeless animals, pet adoption, pet grief, pet loss, shady, shadytales, TGTB, this good that bad, thunder shirt, thundershirt
As we approach the long holiday weekend, Mom is making the realization that she is grounded for the next four days. The 4th of July is all fun and games for you people, but I am scared of fireworks. Despite my vet prescribed natural calming pills and my newly purchased Thundershirt device, I will need constant supervision and that’s that. Suck it up, Ma.
It’s all for the best really, Mom has a ton of stuff to catch up on at home anyway.
Happy Fourth of July!
Not the least of which is getting back to the straight up adoption stories! As you may have noticed, our writing has been derailed a few times since our return in May.
First, our friends needed help with some tough pet decisions so we used our experiences and your input to oblige in a few posts like “How Do You Know?” Then when the worst outcome actually happened, we offered condolences the only way we know how in “I Will Love Him Forever.”
Then Mom got sidetracked by some upsetting pet adoption statistics in “The 8 Second Rule” and spent the next few follow ups trying to break that rule (again, with your help).
All that “out of the box” talk sparked an idea that now has Mom pretty darn busy. She has found a way to do what she challenges everyone else to do on those posts; think outside the box to promote pet adoption. She will be tying in our core message with one of her other marketing projects very closely and long term. We can’t go too much into detail, but it all starts with her new friend, Tuesday Larken. Stop by her blog site and read along to find out as we go how it will all tie in.
Mom and I would like to thank you for all your support and feedback on all our posts and projects. We really appreciate and know from our inbox that collectively, we do indeed make a difference for pets and their owners. We wish you a safe, happy and QUIET holiday weekend.
Filed under: animal rescue | Tags: animal rescue, companion animals, groupon, homeless animals, shady, shadytales, TGTB, this good that bad
As part of our Break the 8 Second Rule effort, We have been exploring ways to increase animal adoptions and reduce pet surrenders outside of traditional volunteering, fostering or adopting. It has been pointed out to us that Groupon recently had one of those ideas—and they blew it.
The discount coupon giant prides itself on its unique writing style and sense of humor. If they had taken the time to learn anything about the intended audience they would have seen the trouble coming a mile away…then they could have either dropped the idea of an animal rescue themed campaign or curbed their usual sharp edges a bit.
Instead they figured they knew best, even in this arena so far outside what they usually do, and ran with an insensitive campaign that accomplished 2 things; it stirred a lot of anger among animal rights people because it made light of a very real problem and it made a lot of people laugh. I have nothing against laughter of course, but the whole thing lacked any call to action to adopt or otherwise do something about the aforementioned very real problem. So why did they bother?
Groupon Takes Dig at Animal Adoptions and Fails
Well, we have no idea why they bothered. That doesn’t mean it was a bad idea. It was just poorly executed Groupon had the right idea and a huge audience to play to and please. Learn from their mistakes and find another way to get adoptable animals in from of larger captive audiences outside of your group’s usual reach. Maybe something like these:
1. Approach your local “Val Pak” coupon vendor about a reduced rate or donated spot to feature homeless animals.
2. Make your own place mat advertising: ask local restaurants to use your and get current adoptable animals in front of diners. Be sure to keep them current and not too “sad.” Maybe partner with a groomer or other pet related business to sponsor or share cost?
3. Ask any vendor with an email newsletter or list to feature one of your adoptable pets in each issue. Good candidates for this are civic groups, school organizations and restaurants.
The list goes on and on, depending on your community and the wherewithal of you volunteers. Don’t give up on “out of the box” just because Groupon or any other large entity failed. What they have in resource they can lack in flexibility, and if you can flip that balance you can make things happen.
