Today I chose not to write about dogs…but rather the special, unforgettable memories that are created when spending time with family.
Jon and I took some time off this week to travel to Nashville TN, without dogs, where we would spend 5 days with 100 15-18 year old high school show choir students. As we took off at the crack of dawn and settled into our flight, I thought about how important my family is to me and the many reasons why Jon and I chose to start our company, Dog is Good. Our decision to build Dog is Good together stemmed from our motivation to do something we loved, have the ability to design our lives, build a future for our family, and find ways to make a difference in the community around us.
When we started the business we had 3 dogs and 1 daughter. Six and a half years later we have 1 dog, 1 dog in training to be a Leader Dog (guide dog), and still only one daughter- who is now 16. Despite the long hours and dedication we pour into our business, we made a promise to never miss any of our daughter’s milestones or events that our daughter was involved in. We have kept that promise.
Abby’s show choir (think GLEE) competed on the stage of the Grand Ol Opry in a national show choir competition. Witnessing these amazing kids in both the advanced womens (SoundTRAX) and advanced mixed (SoundFX) groups win grand champion first place titles was indescribable. Seeing the kids pride and joy as they realized the benefits from countless hours of hard work and dedication was one of the most memorable moments for both Jon and I.
The best part of the past several days was being together as a family, spending time with our daughter and her friends, and connecting with other parents. I was reminded that these are the moments in life you just can’t take for granted.
…AND we even managed to embarrass our daughter during an outing on the town dancing – priceless.
