A to Z Guide to Happiness

Two cute dogs, Bella the Westie and Ollie the Papillon, show you how to be happy and bring happiness wherever you are, by following their paw steps with their friends and family.
You will see them having fun, relaxing, following their dreams and giving all their love. They will give you tips on finding and spreading happiness and inspirational quotations.

Read Pascal Inard's full bibliography here with list of all published and forthcoming work.

Monday, February 28, 2011

Happy Birthday Mom !

Today is a very special day, it's our lovely Mum's birthday, so we want to look our best.
Luckily, Mum helped us and made a very beautiful hat for us.


Look, she bought a hat base, covered it in tulle and added some feathers and rosettes :


Yes and it fits me too, it goes very well with my bow tie, don't you think ?


I'm not sure which dress it goes best with though...


And I'm not sure which hat fits me best...


All these are important questions, but we must not forget one thing :


And what's that dear Bella ?


There's going to be a some yummy food !


Happy birthday Mum, I love you !


And me too !


For her birthday she got some beautiful gifts for her craft, a lovely ring, some decoration for our lovely home and a book called 'Tucked in : for everyone having a doona day', which shows you how to use your time in bed to explore your creativity and heal your soul - sounds good to us !


But the best thing about her birthday celebration is that she buys presents for everyone in the family to say how much she loves us, isn't that sweet ?


Our lovely Mum Isabella would like to share the special story of her birthday with you :

When Isabella’s Mum was expecting her, she was abandoned by Isabella’s Dad but also but her own family who urged her to abandon the baby. She tried everything she could do to be able to keep Isabella; when she left her at the orphanage, she told her she would come back, but despite all her efforts she had to formally abandon her at six weeks, hoping that she would have a good life.

Our Mum knows this about her story because it was recorded at the social department and given to her when she sought to find where she came from. She also knows her mother was Spanish and her dad of “mixed origin”, but because of the law in France guarantees the mother’s anonymity, she was not given her name even though it was in the file. Unfortunately when Isabella asked the social department if they could contact her to find out if she would agree for Isabella to see her or contact her, they lost her trace, probably because she went back to Spain.

Isabella spent 18 months at the orphanage before she was adopted. Her adoptive parents did not give here all the love she deserved; instead, they abused her emotionally, making her live a life of feeling guilty and unworthy.

But because our Mum is resilient, courageous and loving, she is not at all bitter about her story; instead, she lives a life of loving, caring, faith and gratitude, bringing joy happiness and sunshine everywhere she goes – even when it’s difficult for her. In fact she has never taken “the easy way” : when life in France was getting unbearable because of the violence where the family was living, she took the opportunity to come to Australia and faced all the challenges that it entailed, learning a new language, bearing all the insults that her adoptive parents threw at her. Now the family is happy here and we are part of this happy family ! What is wonderful here is to be close to Dad's parents, his sister Flo and aunty Mimi (her birthday was last week, Happy Birthday sweet Mimi !) and a lovely friend Linda.

Isabella always sees the best in people and the positive side of every moment of her life. She is very creative and loves all sorts of craft - this is something that heals her and it makes us very happy to see her creations and to see all her happiness shine through.

The only problem is that she is so selfless, she does not think about herself enough ! So we are always there (along with Dad, Amelie, Anais, Amelie and Matthew) to look after her and tell her how much she means to us and how much we love her.

If this story touches you or if you want to share your own story, please contact us, Mum would love to have a pen pal !

What a lovely story...



True love doesn't consist of holding hands, it consists of holding hearts

A house is made of walls and beams
A home is built with love and dreams




Take care my friends and have a great week !

Monday, February 14, 2011

Happy Valentine's day !

If Valentine's day is the day when say to your loved ones how much you love them, then it's Valentine's day every day in our family, because we love doing that, each in our own special way -  for Ollie and I, it's wagging our tales and licking and jumping with joy when we are with our family.


It's also an opportunity to wear some lovely outfits with hearts !


I love my brother Ollie


"And I love you too my dear sweet sister !"




Mum's been very busy crafting lately and she wants to share some of her creations with you :

This is her little treasure box filled with everything she loves :


Dad took a photo of this heart shaped rock formation when we were on vacation and then Mum coloured it in as a Valentine's day gift , he loves it !





Nothing is sweeter than love, nothing higher, nothing broader, nothing better, either in heaven or earth; because love is born of God.
Thomas a Kempis
Love one another and you will be happy. It's as simple and difficult as that.
Michael Leunig



Take care my friends and have a great Valentine's Day !

Friday, February 11, 2011

Fantastic Fashion Friday

And tonight we present our spring haute couture collection by Isabella, modelled by Bella and Ollie :


I think Blue suits me very well :


I love wearing such beautiful outfits


White tulle is very nice too :


Panthers, where are you, here I come !


Et voila, c'est magnifique, non ?


After Ollie saw Jean Paul Gaultier had skirts for men, he had no problem wearing this lovely outfit :


Peggy has joined us all the way from Panama to make this Fantastic Fashion Friday truly international
Go and say hello to her


We're very interested to know your favourite outfit, last time it was this one :







A Big Little Life - A memoir of a joyful dog by dean Koontz

Many of you may already know the author Dean Koontz; he wrote a truly delightful book about his wonderful golden retriever Trixie who changed his life in so many ways.
Here are some quotes :

"Trixie lived to love and to receive love, which is the condition of angels."

"When we take a dog into our lives we ask for its trust and it is freely given. But in the dog's life as in our own, there come those moments when we are not in control, when we are forced to acknowledge our essential helplessness...Looking into the trusted eyes of the dog, which feels safe in our care and knowing that we do not deserve the totality of is faith in us we are shaken and humbled...The only wisdom is humility which engendres gratitude, and humility is the condition of the heart essential for us to know peace."

"The only significant measure of your life is the positive effect you have on others...Every smallest act of kindness - even just words of hope when they are needed, the compliment that engenders a smile - has the potential to change the recipient's life. If by the example of her joy and innocence, a dog can greatly change two lives for the better, then no life is little and every life is big. The mystery of life is the source of its wonder, and the wonder of life is what makes it so worth living."

Trixie also wrote a book  "Bliss to You: Trixie's Guide to a Happy Life " about finding happiness by emulating dogs : living in the now, enjoying each moment to the fullest; putting aside worries about things one can't control; loving unconditionally and striving to make others happy.
So we have something in common with Trixie, because we have a book, "Paw Steps to Happiness", where we show you how to find and share happiness.
Have a look at Trixie's web site.





Why are dogs lives shorter than human lives ?
People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life - loving everybody all the time and being nice. Dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long.
Shane (little boy who just lost his dog, from the book "Dogs" by Candida Baker)


Take care my friends and have a great week-end !
If you've enjoyed reading this article, you will love our book "A to Z Guide to Happiness - A gift from dogs to their owners (and everyone else).

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