Margot Raggett: Determined to Remembering Wildlife
Margot Raggett has worn many hats—Public Relations Director, Consultant, Wildlife Photographer and now the creator of Remembering Wildlife. Margot grew up in Hampshire, on the South Coast of England. Her father was a keen sailor, so she spent much of her early years on the waters of the Solent as a child. The family never…
Simon Jones, A Life Dedicated To Helping Rhinos
Simon Jones is the founder and CEO of Helping Rhinos, a charity he established in 2012. Simon’s love for animals began at a very young age. His home in the south of England was often referred to as the ‘local zoo’ as he had a whole range of pets that included dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters,…
Vandana Verma—Creating Kindness One Wish at a Time
Vandana Verma is the kind of teacher every parent wants for their child—enthusiastic, inspiring and full of kindness. She began her career in 2002 and has been teaching at Prince Of Wales Elementary School in Hamilton, Ontario, since 2003. Vandana was born in India and immigrated to Canada when she was three years old. She…
Michelle Kadarusman—Author & Animal Lover
It’s always a joy to meet another author. However, connecting with Michelle Kadarusman was an extra thrill, because not only do we share a love of books and writing, we share a love for animals. Michelle grew up in Melbourne, Australia with her four siblings. Her parents divorced when she was very young, and her…
Kelly Thomas & Google Level Funding
I’m sure many of us have dreamt about what we would do if we had Google level funding. Literary agent, Kelly Thomas was asked this exact question on one of my favorite podcasts—The Manuscript Academy. It is a question the creators of the podcast often pose to guests and the answers are varied. But Kelly’s…
Leo—A Special Needs Dog, Loving Life on Two Legs
Almost five years ago, a wonderful thing happened—Poppy joined our family. Not only did we gain an adorable dog, but we also joined an amazing community— the Fetch & Releash dog rescue. Through this incredible group, we get support, advice, and what I most love, hearing inspiring stories from other adopters. One such story came…
Marthese Fenech-Creating Love & Empathy In The Classroom
It’s amazing how people come into our lives, in what we believe is for a specific purpose, only to become so much more. I met Marthese Fenech, Mar as she’s known to her friends, in 2015. We were both part of an online writing group called Kidcrit. I quickly realized that Mar was as gifted…
Joan and Tiger—Turning Heartache Into Friendship
Many of us have had the privilege of sharing our home with animals. We remember the day we first met them and the great joy and immense love they bring us. Unfortunately, animals don’t live as long as we want or need them to, and eventually we have to say goodbye. But sometimes an animal…
The Many Hats of Eric Walters—Author, Speaker & Co-Founder of Care For Hope
One of my favourite parts about this blog, is connecting with people who use their skills or talents to help others. Eric Walters is a prime example of such a person. Eric was born in Toronto, Canada in 1957. He went on to become a social worker and then in 1992 earned his teaching degree.…
Marilyn Helmer (Part 2)—Unexpected Visitors
One of the great joys in creating this blog post is hearing how these stories of kindness touch and inspire others. I was incredibly heart-warmed when Marilyn Helmer, who had already shared her story, Random Acts of Kindness, told me she enjoyed reading one of my other posts. As a dedicated cat lover, Marilyn was…
Marilyn Helmer-Random Acts Of Kindness
A while back, I reached out to my writing community in hopes some people would share their stories of kindness with me. I was so happy to receive this story from author Marilyn Helmer. I feel this story is particularly relevant as we deal with the reality of living through a world-wide pandemic. Though many…
Kate Thompson (part two)- Kate & Her Cats
I’m delighted to bring you part two of my wonderful story about my dear friend and animal lover, Kate Thompson. In my earlier post, I shared some of Kate’s animal rescue stories, from raccoons to squirrels to a sweet dog. Though Kate loves all animals, I think cats hold a particularly special place in her…
Kate Thompson-Always Trying To Save Them All
I have known Kate Thompson for almost 25 years. She started out as our family hair dresser, and quickly became a wonderful family friend. We loved having our hair cut by Kate. Where else could you get a wash, trim and cuddle a cat at the same time? Though Kate has since moved to the…
Eleanor Ann Peterson–A Life Surrounded With Animals
The world is a different place since I posted my last blog. The virus known as Covid-19 has created a world-wide pandemic. Many businesses and schools are closed. Those who can are working from home, while many others are facing devastating financial difficulties. However, in this unsettling time, there have also been countless examples of…
Hannah Russell—An Entrepreneur Dedicated To Helping Animals
At 23 years of age, Hannah Russell is a published author and the founder of Russell Rhino, an online clothing and accessory store, dedicated to raising awareness for rhinos. So far, Hannah estimates she has raised well over £100,000 for charities, including those who help save rhinos. Incredible! Hannah was born in 1997 in Scarborough—a…
Elaine Philpott—Saving India’s Street Dogs
Elaine Philpott grew up in the United Kingdom. For as long as she can remember, animals have always been a huge part of her life. As a child, she shared her home with dogs, cats, rabbits and hamsters. Given her love of animals, it makes perfect sense that she trained to become a veterinary nurse.…
Rob Laidlaw-Animal Advocate & Author
Animal advocate and award winning author Rob Laidlaw has devoted his life to helping animals. While not everyone can commit as much time and effort as he does to helping animals, Rob believes all of us can make a difference. “Anyone can help.” I learned about Rob and his charitable organization Zoocheck many years ago.…
Sandee Ewasiuk—Painting For Australian Animals
I love how one kind act can lead to another. A friend kindly shared a story on FaceBook about a woman who is helping the animals suffering from the devastating wild fires in Australia. I clicked on the link and was so touched by what I read. Artist, Sandee Ewasiuk is selling prints of her…
Kindness In Colleagues
I am delighted to share this double-layered story of kindness. I call it double-layered because the author of the story, Sylvia McNicoll, is also extremely kind. First, a bit about Sylvia. Sylvia is the award-winning author of over 35 books for children. In addition to being a full-time author, Sylvia teaches writing at The Living…
John Oberg—using the power of social media to spread kindness
One of my favourite parts of social media is how it brings like-minded people together and allows one’s community to expand. Social media allowed me to ‘meet’ John Oberg. John grew up in Detroit, Michigan with his mom, Karen Oberg. As a child, he loved soccer, throwing a baseball, watching the Detroit Red Wings, but…
Beyond Writing
Six months ago, I started a Kindness Is Everything blog. I’m thrilled to say it’s still going! It means so much to me to be able to share amazing stories of people being kind to animals and each other. An added benefit has been staying in touch with these wonderfully, kind people who make such…
Blankets For Baby Rhinos
I am thrilled to share this lovely story of kindness. I have been following Blankets For Baby Rhinos on Facebook for over a year, and I have been awed by the generosity of its talented members, who make gorgeous blankets for orphaned rhinos and other animals. I was delighted when founder Elisa Best agreed to…
Maris & Maris—Mother & Daughter Devoted to Saving Whales
You never know where a phone call will lead. A few weeks ago, I called SaveTheWhales.org a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and protecting the ocean and its inhabitants. I was interested in gathering information as part of my research for a picture book I’m working on. I was beyond thrilled to speak with the…
The Power of Love & Healing— Happily Ever Esther Farm Sanctuary
I was trying to think of something fun my university-aged daughter and I could do together. Since we both love animals, I thought it would be nice to volunteer helping animals. I found the perfect place—Happily Ever Esther Farm Sanctuary. We had both heard the story of Steve Jenkins, Derek Walter and their lovely pig…
Scott Bainbridge—Helping Animals is More Than A Career.
I first met Scott Bainbridge in grade 7. I should have known then what an incredibly kind person he would become. Even back in middle school, when kids are often not at their best, Scott was kind, open, and welcoming. A quality he continues to show to humans and non-humans alike. Scott’s love for animals…
The Animal House Jamaica
I am so happy to share this story of kindness. While many us love animals, it takes a special person with a huge heart to dedicate their life to helping animals. Maureen Sheridan has been doing exactly that since 1990, when she started The Animal House Jamaica. Maureen was born in England and grew up…
Kindness in the Healthcare Profession
Monday August 5th started wonderfully. A day after being on hospital call, my husband, Matt was looking forward to enjoying the last day of the Civic Holiday long weekend. The weather couldn’t have been nicer. We had breakfast outside and then he and our daughter, Alyssa headed off on their bikes, excited to ride…
A Ferret Named Randall
This amazing story of kindness was sent by Kate Kenzie. Kate is a book blogger and writer from Yorkshire. On a warm summer’s day Kate and her husband were on their way to pick up some plants, but they got delayed. As they were driving along in the middle of nowhere, as Kate describes…
Kyla and the Coot
This story was shared by Kyla Morris. Kyla lives in East London. On a winter’s night in November 2010, Kyla was walking home from work with a colleague alongside a busy road during rush hour, when she heard a thump. She looked around to find a Coot on its back waving its legs. The poor…
The Buddy Bench
This wonderful story about friendship, inclusivity, and kindness comes from Maya and Liberty Persaud. Enjoy! Being new at school is always hard, and being new at school in a new country is even harder. Maya and Liberty, and their parents Ryan and Sarah, moved to Curitiba, Brazil, in July 2018. Their parents work at the…
Fostering-When A ‘Fail’ Is actually A Good Thing
I received this lovely story from Bradley Bravard, a writer living in Florida. Bradley used to foster dogs. Over the years, he fostered for several different rescue groups. He always made sure he only volunteered with organizations that had strict adoption policies. This gave him confidence in knowing that the dog was going to a…
The Real Cheshire Cat
At last! My first KINDNESS IS EVERYTHING blog post. I’ve wanted to collect and share stories of people being kind to animals and each other for a long time. But as is often the case, life gets busy, and these ‘sort of things’ are pushed aside. Well, no more. I’m choosing to allow myself a…
Kindness Is Everything
I’m starting a new blog initiative- one I’m hopeful will grow. I find it hard to listen to the news these days. There’s an overwhelming amount of sadness out there. Many terrible things are happening to animals, the environment, and people. Though it’s important to be aware of the awful things happening on our planet,…
Our Vegan Thanksgiving
Today is the start of Canada’s Thanksgiving long weekend. Every year I look forward to my family coming together for a lovely dinner. For over twenty-five years, our Thanksgiving dinners have been vegetarian. We’ve done a Tofurkey Thanksgiving, a Veggie Lasagna Thanksgiving, and several Indian Thanksgivings. Each time, I’d come away feeling good. Feeling good…
Fetch & Releash- Making Life Better For Dogs & People
Almost every day we are bombarded by news of the atrocities humans inflict on each other and animals. It’s easy to get upset about these horrors, talk about them at work or with friends, and share our views on social media. What’s hard is to actually move from that state of ineffective venting to effecting positive change. Sometimes the problems…
Are You Pet Worthy?
I’m a little late with this blog post, but I have a good reason (well, at least I think so). We adopted a six-month old puppy. Earlier this year, we had to say goodbye to both our beloved Billy and Cassie. Billy would have been fourteen on July 11th and Cassie fifteen on June 5th.…
A Challenge
I’m putting out a challenge and I hope you’ll accept it. Come back in time with me. Back to the early 1970’s. What’s so great about this era, you might be wondering? Well, there was the music. Hits like Bridge Over Troubled Water, Let It Be, and I’ll Be There, just to name a few. And TV shows,…
Trophy Hunting
It has been almost one year since Cecil, the beautiful male African lion, was killed by a trophy hunter. Cecil was not the first or last animal to be slaughtered for their head, skin, tusks, or horns. But his tragic death raised awareness about the horrific existence of trophy hunting. I, along with many across the…
Anitha Rao-Robinson 