BLISSFUL BALANCE

OUR DOG BARRY LOVES

BY CINDY DECAROLIS

My husband Louis and I married late in life. Neither of us were married before, so we don’t have any children of our own. We just have our little shih tzu Barry – and we don’t consider him our child, he is our pet, but he is an integral member of our family. Barry was a rescue dog from Lollypop Farms, as the bumper sticker says: Who rescued who? mysteries and Louis prefers to listen to audio books. We started listening to mystery audio books together. We had long drives (Barry likes to curl up on my lap during our drives) to Ithaca and back on Sunday and we were listening to Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter – one of my favorite mystery writers. After we finished hiking, we drove into Ithaca and walked around the Commons area. We stopped at Green Star Market to pick up food for a picnic. Finally, we stopped at my in-law’s cottage on Canandaigua Lake on the way home. All in all, a perfect family day.

Barry just wants us all to be together all of the time. On Saturday mornings, Louis will often take Barry with him on errands. Barry knows that he is going with Louis and he lets me know that he wants me to come too. He will run over to me and bark looking from me back to Louis. I usually pick him up and carry him over to Louis then tell him to have a good time.

Barry is just beside himself with excitement when he sees that we are all going for a ride together. He runs around in circles, barks, jumps up and pushes at me with his front paws, as if to say “hurry up, let’s get crack-a-lacking!”

Depending on our work schedules, Louis and I try to have a family day each weekend. Last weekend I had the whole weekend off which allowed me to join Louis and Barry on Saturday errands. On Sunday we had a family day that took us to Buttermilk Falls in Ithaca. I have always been an avid reader of Once we arrived at Buttermilk Falls, we hiked the Gorge and Rim Trail Loop. This is a 1.6 miles loop with 462-foot elevations and is rated as moderate difficulty. There are some nice uphill climbs on this trail which makes me feel like it is a good workout despite being a short loop. Barry loves getting out on the trails where he can run free – at least to the length of his leash – and sniff to his hearts content. Generally, our family days include a drive, a walk, and a picnic. Some of our other favorite family day locations are Skaneateles, Ellicottville, Letchworth State Park, Canadice Lake, Watkins Glen State Park, and Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards in the fall.

I enjoy our family days as much as Barry does, and I think Louis does too. It is so interesting how when you do one thing that is good for you it spirals. All of the following things are known to reduce stress and improve your health and well-being:

Spending time with family, friends, and loved ones creates stronger emotional bonds and improves communication.

Being in nature contributes to both emotional and physical well-being, reducing blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension, and release of stress hormones.

Being around trees boosts the immune system, reduces stress, increases your ability to focus and your energy, and