Today is a special day – 11/11/11, the only time this century the 2 digits for month, day, and year are all ones. At 11:11am today, date and time will be all ones. As a former software engineer, I think about how all programming languages have at their core the basic values of ones and zeros, one means yes, and zero means no. So on a spiritual level, today is a day for “yes.”

I read a great article in the New York Times the other day titled “Dog Massage? Isn’t Petting Enough?” The article talks in part about the controversy surrounding whether pet massage actually helps the animal or whether it is just glorified petting. While many vets may say that there is no science behind pet massage, I’ve seen first hand the positive effects of massage on dogs.

I don’t usually go to dog parks because I don’t think my dog Beau enjoys them. But it was a nice day and thought we should go out and do a little socializing. Now mind you, these are only my opinions and observations, nothing more.

I was talking with a friend and she mentioned how she has an agreement with her dog that her dog will live to be at least 20 years old. She asked how I could have a preference for bigger dogs which typically have a shortened life span. I told her we never know what’s going to happen in life. One minute everything’s fine, the next minute, not. Daily there’s news of accidents and tragic events that take the lives of young people. There’s no guarantee.

Believe it or not, I never experienced fleas until I moved to Florida – I did battle with ticks; coming from the northeast and I’m not sure which is worse. It doesn’t really matter, the fact is they were gross and my dog suffered. At the time, I was using chemicals just like so many others to eradicate or prevent infestation. Pulling off the fat ticks (Ugh!) or watching my dog scratch was difficult. So, I resorted to the recommended flea and tick control.

Whenever my husband and I travel, we’re much happier if our dog can come with us. When Rocky was alive, we took trips as far north as North Carolina with Rocky in tow. Now that we have Yankee in our lives, the same is true. If we can take our dog, we do.

Prior to 2005, I didn’t know there was such a thing as canine massage! But after a vivid dream, I researched it, and changed careers. As ridiculous as it may sound to some people, aqua therapy, massage, aromatherapy, acupressure, and other modalities are viable, proven, non-invasive, holistic options for maintaining health and treating a wide range of conditions both in humans and animals.

On Monday, Sept. 12th, we officially opened for business! We started off with a bang by having an interview with the Orlando Sentinel!

Here’s a picture of the backyard, complete with landscaping! This has been a crazy week! It’s taken a while to get here. Lots of last minute activity so we could pass our final inspections and get our certificate of occupancy

We are the only Orlando dog boarding and Orlando doggie day care center that has an indoor heated pool for dogs. See it for yourself by scheduling a tour!

Rocky's Retreat | 2826 Shader Rd. Orlando FL 32808 | info@rockysretreat.com | (407) 295-3888