Wednesday, November 21, 2012

A Heartfelt THANK YOU- A little bit "Wordy" Wednesday

There are a lot of contests out there that many of us enter that offer prizes such as money, pet supplies and blog "notoriety", just to name a few. I recently entered a contest that for me, was probably the most emotionally rewarding of any contest that I have entered thus far.

My friend Ann Paws who is the author  of one of my favorite new blogs:

Click here to visit!
 had a contest where we had to submit a photo of what our PETS are thankful for.

For me, this was a no-brainer. My "boyz" are MOST thankful for EACH OTHER. This photo was my entry:



Cody and Dakota have a most unique relationship. I couldn't be more blessed, nor could THEY!

They are playmates, partners in crime and conspiracy, companions when my husband and I aren't home,  they visibly worry when one of them is gone from our home even if it is just for an hour or two.  At night, by choice, they  sleep in close proximity of each other. My vet often tells me how he marvels at the intensity of their bond. Don't tell them that cats and dogs aren't supposed to get along. They exhibit care and concern for each other that many of us could learn from. All of this, and my method of "introducing" them  completely defied "conventional" blogging and textbook guidelines. I listened to my heart, which rarely steers me wrong.

There were 3 winners of this contest and my photo of Dakota and Cody was the GRAND PRIZE WINNER! I am honored and elated that my photo won the contest! What thrilled me the most was that the "judge" of this contest was Anns'  8 year old daughter, Lily:

Photo courtesy of:
http://mypawsitivelypets.blogspot.com/2012/11/thanksgiving-photo-contest-winner.html


What was special to me,  was this was TRULY a "fair and unbiased" judge who not only didn't know any of the entrants, she just loves animals! There was no "hidden agenda" here! You know what they say, "out of the mouths of babes." Lily said that my photo was  "adorable."

You can't fool a child. Children are often our harshest critics. They respond on an emotional level,  a child can sense dishonesty and those with less than stellar intentions a mile away. Ironically, our pets also have this ability. Want to know if a person is GENUINE? Introduce them to your children or your pets.

Being the winner of the "GRAND PRIZE" for this contest didn't bring money, or pet toys or supplies or even a shiny statuette. The prize is THIS lovely badge that I am displaying with enormous pride:



this is PRIZE ENOUGH for me! I don't have mad photography skills,  or the latest camera loaded with bells and whistles. What I DO have are a dog and a cat whose affection for each other lit up that photo and made my message clear.

My "prize" was my work touching the heart of a child. To me, that is the GREATEST gift of all, and in the spirit of Thanksgiving....I THANK YOU LILY from the bottom of my heart.





36 comments:

  1. Concatulations, Cody and Dakota!
    Purrs,
    The KT Gang

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  2. Congratulations Caren, that is so fantastic! Wonderful award and heart-warming post. What a special bond that Cody and Dakota do have, that must be really special to witness.

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  3. Congrats!!! It's a beautiful picture of the 2.

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  4. Oh goodness, that is such a nice story and so great that Cody and Dakota won the prize. Whooo Hoooo. Well done all three of you. (Mom Too) We sure will go visit to that blog. Take care. And Happy Thanksgiving to ya.

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  5. congratulations! :)

    and I can't' tell you how much I adore that tiara on the pie.. ;)

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  6. Well done on winning. Have a wonderful Wednesday.
    Best wishes Molly

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  7. Lily chose the winner well! Your boys DO have a most special relationship and you captured the feeling of that with that photo. It's a lovely award and it certainly doesn't surprise me at all that you won.....bonds between animal species can be every bit as tight (or tighter) than humans have - best of all, they get along - something we could all learn from!

    Concatulations from me AND Sammy!
    Hugs, Pam

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  8. That is a beautiful picture. Truly deserving of a grand prize. Congratulations!
    Happy Thanksgiving!
    Mistletoe & Hitch

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  9. That is a beautiful picture. Truly deserving of a grand prize. Congratulations!
    Happy Thanksgiving!
    Mistletoe & Hitch

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  10. I saw the results of the contest and I thought the judge had really good judgement ;-)
    Concats, your picture is beautiful!
    Purrs

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  11. Congrats!!! That photo is just full of smiles!

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  12. Lily had a smile on her face when I read this to her! Congratulations Caren, Cody, and Dakota. Thanks for the kind words :) I hope all of you guys have a great Thanksgiving tomorrow!

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  13. Congratulations! The wise judge had it right. That photo of Cody and Dakota is adorable. Great post, too.

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  14. YAY! We saw that you'd won over at Ann's blog and couldn't eb prouder!!

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  15. Congrats, those are great pictures!

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  16. CONGRATULATIONS! You absolutely, super-duperly deserve it!!! purrs

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  17. congrats Caren and Cody and Dakota,you guys deserve it!xx Speedy

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  18. We agree! You and Cody and Dakota are deservin winners-and such a gracious thank-you!

    Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

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  19. conga ratz cody N dakota; that iz one saweet surprize; no pun intended....ewe both IZ blessed that ya like each other...noe....loves each other... sew well.....sumtimes in mulltee pet homes that can be a hard thing ta come by...

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  20. What a wonderful thing to win! And so special that Lily was the judge.

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  21. This is so very beautiful and warms our hearts. Congratulations, Cody, Dakota & Caren! Thank you for reminding us all what's really important - the relationships in our lives and the love we share.
    We're thankful you're our friends xoxo
    ~Katie & Glogirly

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  22. Big ConCats Caren, that is such a beautiful picture!! Lily has great taste and she could see the love :)

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  23. Oooops! Had to post as ipad seized up!! Wanted to send hugs and xox too :)

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  24. Awww that is so special, concats to Dakota and Cody!

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  25. Congrats, Caren, Cody a& Dakota. May you have much to purr about this Thanksgiving.

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  26. Concats on a great award and of the friendship between Dakota and Cody. Happy Turkey Day to you and yours.

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  27. What a sweet picture. Congrats to a sweet and loving odd couple! :)

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  28. Many congratulations on the beautiful picture and on winning the contest! I hope you and your family, furry and Human, have a wonderful Thanksgiving together XOXOXO

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  29. congrats and i love the pic too!!!!

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  30. What a beautiful story. Indeed this is the best type of contest and prize. Like you Caren, we don't have any fancy cameras or do any photo--retouching. So no Photoshop here. Maybe that's a blessing because what people see is the on glossed version--the real deal!

    Congratulations. Very deserving.
    Christine for Riverfrontcats.com

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  31. What a beautiful story! Indeed this is the best type of contest and prize when children are involved. Like you , we don't have any fancy cameras or professional photographers. And we never retouch photos. So no PhotoShop here. What people see in our photos is the real deal! People appreciate that too!

    Congratulations. Very deserving.

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