Category Archives: Executive Director

From the Executive Director: Roses are red….

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The holiday celebration with all the cheer and bright lights is behind us. It is easy to feel a bit depressed, with so many weeks still ahead of us with short days and long, dark nights. So how about brightening things up with some poetry about pets? You may not think you have it in you, but actually… anyone can write limerick and haiku poetry – it is fun and simple!

A limerick is a 5 line poem, where the 1st, 2nd and 5th line rhyme, and the 3rd and 4th line rhyme i.e. AABBA. A haiku is a 3 line poem, where line 1 and 3 have 5 syllables and line 2 has 7 syllables. That’s it – easy, peasy! And it can really be addictive. Soon you’ll see everything through the “lens” of a limerick or haiku 🙂

To help with creativity, look at a photo, or out the window. You can also go to a shelter website and look at photos, or better yet, visit a shelter in person! If you need help with counting syllables, you can find free counters online.

Please share your poetry in the commenting box below.

To help get you started, below are a few of mine.

Happy writing!
Best,
Unni Heineking, Executive Director

NOTE: the beautiful photo of the tuxedo cat with rose is from http://coeurdartichauts.canalblog.com/archives/2014/05/07/29821202.html.

Image from: farm4.staticflickr.com/3599/3488793313_d097da2682_o.jpg

There once was a dog named Dun
Whose favorite thing was to run
He ran like the wind
With both ears pinned
And left his shadow in the sun

Limerick. Unni Heineking

Sierra has a face like a heart
And perhaps she is also very smart
No one to love her
She has stainless steel above her
Waiting for a friend and a new start

Limerick. Unni Heineking

Sierra is currently up for adoption at Lake Humane Society!

 

Look at my big brave smile
Why is my new world so confusing?
Dreams,  bones and walks

Haiku. Unni Heineking

Golden glow, alone
The birds are chirping high in trees
Memories of home

Haiku. Unni Heineking

A Holiday Greeting from the Executive Director

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Christmas is almost here. There is still so much to do and so little time. Are you frantically trying to come up with a more fun gift for Aunt Sally than those pair of slippers you bought last week? Or struggling to find some time to go shopping for the ingredients to that new cookie recipe you want to make for the dessert table on Christmas Day? It can be overwhelming!

My hope is that you will take the time to “stop and smell the roses”, as it were, to really enjoy the holiday, not just be driven stir crazy by it.

Maybe those slippers aren’t the most innovative gift for Aunt Sally, but they will certainly keep her feet warm. And those cookies, even though delicious, can wait another year to be made.

Make some tea, light a candle, and sit down.

Let your cat sit in your lap as you sip your tea, petting her soft ears and listening to her calm purring. Notice all those lovely colors in her fur, and feel the warmth of her body.

Take your dog for a walk, share a fun game of tug, and give him the belly rub he so loves. Look deep into his eyes, and “see” the amazing soul that lives behind them.

Feel all your stress melt away.

Oh, what would we do without the pets in our lives!! They keep us sane, they are our confidants, and they make us feel very loved.

May you, your family and your pets have a loving and blessed Holiday together!

Warmly,

Unni Heineking, Executive Director