arrow-right cart chevron-down chevron-left chevron-right chevron-up close menu minus play plus search share user email pinterest facebook instagram snapchat tumblr twitter vimeo youtube subscribe dogecoin dwolla forbrugsforeningen litecoin amazon_payments american_express bitcoin cirrus discover fancy interac jcb master paypal stripe visa diners_club dankort maestro trash

Calm in the Chaos - Tips for a Better Life

For the Love of Animals: From Sh*tshow to Snuggles!

 A big part of loving animals, and taking care of them, is cleaning up their poop. It's like life: sometimes you must get through the sh*tty parts to get to the good parts. 
Collage of photos of Jamie & Sarah volunteering with goats and horses

by Jamie Spannhake

July 11, 2021

Calm in the Chaos - Tips for a Better Life

For the Love of Animals: From Sh*tshow to Snuggles!

 A big part of loving animals, and taking care of them, is cleaning up their poop. It's like life: sometimes you must get through the sh*tty parts to get to the good parts. 

by Jamie Spannhake

July 11, 2021

Collage of photos of Jamie & Sarah volunteering with goats and horses

My daughter, Sarah, and I love animals. In our household, we had two dogs, Emily and Samantha, for over 17 years until recently. We've had a bunny named Sweetie. And we now have two cats, Simone and Silly. 

We have also been volunteering at a couple of local animal sanctuaries. The animals at Clover Ridge Animal Sanctuary in New Milford, CT are goats, barn cats, and two pugs. If you follow me on social media, you've seen pictures of these adorable goats and our volunteer efforts in the past. When the owner of the sanctuary decided to go out of town for ten days, to visit friends and other animal sanctuaries, we volunteered to take care of the goats and cats while she was away. (Someone else was taking care of the dogs.) The duties were split between us and another two volunteers.

This past weekend, Sarah and I also volunteered at H.O.R.S.E. of CT, in New Preston, CT, a sanctuary that takes in abused and neglected horses.

As we were volunteering this weekend, scooping poop in a small field to remove all the horse poop, and raking the hay in the barn to remove all the goat poop, I realized: a large part of loving animals, and taking care of them, is cleaning up their poop. 

It's like life, really. Not all the parts of the process are enjoyable. In fact, some parts are just sh*tty. But, when we keep doing the work, when we keep showing up, we get to the good parts. 

This past weekend, after the poopy parts, we were able to pet and brush and snuggle with the goats. We were able to feel their enjoyment in being with us, especially when we had whole peanuts to share. After shoveling the field, we were able to groom the horse, pet his soft nose, and enjoy his funny personality. 

In fact, I think we enjoyed these "good" parts even more BECAUSE of the difficult parts. Our work had positive benefits, for us and for the animals.

If you are slogging through the not-so-great parts right now, keep going. 

xo

 

Let's Chat!

Think you'd like to learn how working with me could help you create the life you want? I'd love to chat with you to explore how I can support you and what resources, many of them free, I can share with you to guide you on your work-life integration journey. Schedule a 15-minute Discovery Call with me.
Let's Chat for a 15-minute discovery call

0 comments

Leave a comment

More Calm in the Chaos - Tips for a Better Life

Shopping Cart