For those of you that don’t already know, we are suckers for animals.  Friends to anything that walks, crawls, slithers or flies.  And because of that we try to help those that can’t speak for themselves.

When we were in Dubai and in Jordan we participated in animal welfare and adoption programs and adopted 2 cats off the streets.

This is Ravi our one eyed lunatic…

And Little Man (who is not so little anymore)

And this is Burtie- my furkid and trusty Canadian sidekick for over 11 years now…

But here in India we are constantly shocked by the amount of dogs on the streets.  While many of them look well fed, there are many that are not.  They may even be injured, have missing limbs or other maladies.

Which is why we carry a supply of dog treats and rawhide bones with us at all times.  While we know it’s not enough, it’s at least something to brighten the day of a street dog.

There is one family of dogs that has been living in and around a construction site beside our apartment complex.  When we first moved in Mom looked tired and haggard with 5 puppies following her every move.  We found them to be friendly and extremely sweet.

Over the next few months we made a point of dropping food off to them everyday and making sure they got their shots, flea and worm treatments and even told the family watching the construction site to tell us if they ever needed anything for the puppies.

We ended up taking one of them into our home after he was hit by a car.  While his leg wasn’t broken it was in bad shape but after 2 and a half months with us he was ready to be adopted into a family.

During that time 2 of the others got homes as well.

But 4 weeks ago, we realized one of the puppies wasn’t around anymore.  She had been hit by a car as well and needed medical help right away.

Her recovery was faster than her brother’s and was just about ready to find a loving home as well.  We took her in for a final check up on her injuries and got her the next round of vaccinations.

2 days later she started acting strangely.   4 days later she passed away.

She was a wonderful dog and made our lives better everyday. And quite possibly one of the sweetest creatures ever to be put on this earth.

It amazed me at how quickly something so wonderful could be gone and it forced me to remember that your life doesn’t start after you find success.  The best times aren’t when you have all the money in the world or the nice car that you dreamed of.  It isn’t about the gourmet kitchen, the designer wardrobe, the exotic vacation or the expensive bottle of wine.

It is about enjoying the little things that make up everyday of your life – both good and bad.  And taking time to be thankful for every second that you get to spend with someone you love very much.

So take just a couple minutes today to tell the people and pets that brighten your day what they mean to you.

Make it a fantastic day- for you and for someone you love!

Cheers!

Erica

Just one more reason I love my job!

Our only complaint about the entire trip was that it wasn’t long enough.  What an amazing place.  That and the fact that I didn’t have 2 stomachs to eat all the food they wanted us to have.

Here are some of my favorite shots from the trip.

Orange County Resort - Coorg Karnataka, India

Where are we - exactly?

The bathroom in our Private Pool Villa

Looks a bit chilly for a swim KJ!

Our self portrait after arriving and being blessed

One of the many gorgeous flowers around the plantation

Erica on our private veranda

Rain rain go away

Can you tell we're happy to be out of the city?

Kenny eating his desert before his lunch!

Kenny looks small beside that palm!

Birds of Paradise everywhere!

Some of the plantation locals. They were extremely vocal with their greeting

Outside the Peppercorn restaurant where we had dinner the night before

On the deck of the Peppercorn restaurant. That is our villa behind us over the lake.

No idea what kind of flower this is but it was too gorgeous not to take a picture of

One of the thousands of Anthuriums they grow right at the plantation.

The Scarlet Anthurium

Another one of the locals. He was still cock-a-doodle-dooing after our bird watching trek. Very glad he wasn't hanging out beside my room!

Kenny ready for our jungle walk in his very 'hot' leach proof socks

I can't believe no one wears these to the Oscars!

Another beauty

There were butterflies everywhere and it's not even butterfly season.

These trees were inside the coffee plantation. The vines you see growing up them are all pepper plants.

Our trusty guides for our jungle walk

Kenny and I in the middle of the coffee plantation

Kenny looking super relaxed while we waited for our guide to climb a tree and search for elephants

No elephants but it's still a great excuse for a stroll in the India jungle

The leach proof socks make us look rugged don't they?

The Carvery River. It is just a trickle of a stream in the summer months

A dragonfly friend we found along the way

Yes- there were lots of spiders in the jungle. This species can grow to the size of my hand and spin a web 1.5 meters wide

Kenny happy to feel the sunshine on his pale face

Me taking a quick breather while we waited for the guides

Another resident of the jungle

Erica peeking out from behind one of the hundreds of thousands of coffee bean plants they have at the plantation

Back to the resort safe and sound- no elephant sightings but it was still an amazing walk in the jungle

A gorgeous caterpillar

You can feed the fish and take a little tour around the lake from this boat. And you can see our house (for our stay) in the background

Who wants to go for a ride? Wait. Where's the motor for this thing? A pole- forget it!

Kenny and some of the registration staff at Orange County

Packed but not ready to go home!

I dashed inside to grab the camera and caught them on film as they were making their way down the side of the building.

Here is the video I took of my new furry neighbors…

Oh and it’s not always that loud!  The kids were taking full advantage of the tennis court for a rowdy game of soccer- excuse me football before the rain started.

Here are some of the shots I took with it…

A cow taking in the sites- yep in the middle of the road!

His friends chillin’ out watching the traffic go by.

The view from the opposite side of the street

Even auto rickshaw drivers get a craving for grapes- kind of like a drive thru grape shop

The crowd waiting for the bus

Just a tiny sample of all the fruit available

Flower garlands for worship

That hill is garlic and so is the one behind it!  The green pile is chilies and the bags are filled with ginger- spicy!

Some dried fish- we passed this cart quickly!

Onions anyone?

This shot gives a new meaning to ‘banana hammock’

I love my new Nikon- so look out for more shots from our Indian adventures!

Have a great day guys.

Erica

Know as the Silicon Valley of India we are surrounded by IT companies and people from all over the world.   It is the 3rd largest city in the country and is the home to more than 6 million people.

It is also called Bengaluru which is it’s official name.

It is located in the South Eastern part of the country.

So far it’s been a fascinating adventure and stay tuned for more posts about our life here.

We always send a video message out to the friends and fam from where ever we happen to be in the world on Christmas and this year we were in India so we went a little bit bollywood…

Hope you all enjoy it!