It has been exciting to think of welcoming like-minded people to our site to share their stories and thoughts about how animals transform lives in a beautiful way and how each of us, in some way, even the smallest, can make life better for one another. Most importantly, it is about LOVE centered actions. 

We are living in unchartered times, separation and division surround us, but when it comes to our beloved pets, we can all come together. In one recent post on a local nextdoor app, a neighbor lamented “everyone has too much to say on this forum. Simply just lemme see some cute animals so I can breathe a little…” 525 people posted photos! Now that’s powerful!

So, that being said, we would like to welcome Dr. Marcie Fondale and share her personal story of transformation with her precious animals. 

“My babies have been with me for less than a year! In that short amount of time, they have truly brought purpose to my life. My husband & I were never blessed to be parents to human babies, but we have always loved raising our German Shepherd dogs. While I have truly loved our dogs, I find it hard to describe the sheer joy that my little chicks & ducklings brought into my life. The love they gave to me was like NOTHING I have ever experienced before in my 50 years of life! Perhaps it was because they were so small; perhaps it was because they were so young. Whatever it was, I truly feel it was a gift from God. 

As it was for most of us, 2020 was a tough year. As I moved into March of 2021, I was still unable to work due to my own health issues; I was also still recovering from my 3rd major surgery in less than a year's time. So...I somehow found myself, along with my husband, in a local farm store, ready to buy some baby chicks (then I laid eyes on the tiny ducklings in bins beside the chicks, so they came home with us, too). In a matter of hours, I went from focusing only on my own health problems to being the primary caregiver for 3 recently hatched chicks & 3 equally young, little ducklings! To say I was completely & totally smitten does not begin to describe what I was feeling. I honestly think it was Divine Intervention! You see, I was sick of being sick; I was ready to give up &, to be quite honest, I was hoping to not wake up each morning. Then, suddenly, I had to wake up early to care for these little gifts from God! The fun adventures began from the moment we decided to bring them home to join our family. 

How has this been life changing? I am honestly overcome with emotion trying to best respond to this question. In short, these little creatures saved my life. They brought me back from the dead; well, at least my spirit was certainly dying. I am now so blessed to wake up to care for them in their barn each morning! Why is this odd? I have NEVER been a morning person & my illness made this even worse. Now, because of the need to be, literally, up with the chickens (& ducks), I am blessed to see the sunrise each day; I am blessed to be able to take in God's beautiful creation, its sounds, its colors, its sheer beauty. I am so grateful to be able to spend time each day with my feathered babies so that I can, hopefully, return even a portion of the love they have given to me. 

What's also great about this experience is that I have been able to use my stories about my babies to show others that LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL, even when it can be hard at the same time. By sharing my health journey on Facebook (I have also started sharing some on Instagram), my "friends" have reached out to tell me things like how I am handling my illness "with grace," that I am "an inspiration," & that they look forward to reading about my adventures "down on the egg farm." So, by writing about my experiences & showing an amusing approach to life's challenges, I am also blessed to help others SMILE! I truly believe that as long as we can laugh at ourselves & smile through our tears, we can get through absolutely any challenge that we might face! When someone feels their smile fading, I am more than happy to reach out to help him/her restore it. With that in mind, I would be honored to be a guest blogger & I look forward to hearing from you again very soon, Valentino (& friends). I can't wait to share what its actually like to care for these little sweeties! “

Take care,

Dr. Marcie Fondale

Learn more about Marcie and her egg farm on her Instagram