Thursday Thoughts with Tiffany: Staying Positive in the face of Adversity

It can be kind of hard to stay positive when a problem arises. Yesterday we had something come up, which is why we are a little late in posting this week. The dogs were loaded up and we were on the way to have a day of fun and to play in water to celebrate my 23rd birthday.


The day didn’t turn out quite like planned. The car began to overheat. The needle on the odometer was in the red zone.

I turned off the AC, hoping that would help. The needle moved down for awhile, then went back up. This was my first experience with an overheating car, and I was a little ignorant. After the event, I did some research and found out what to do when your car is overheating.

I kept an eye on the needle, wondering what to do. I tried slowing the car down, but that didn’t really help either. I was on a flat stretch of highway, and I started looking for a safe place to pull off where I could hopefully let the car cool off, before continuing on our journey.

Right when I spotted a turn off, three lights flashed on over the dashboard. I pulled off immediately, and as I pulled off, white clouds billowed from the hood. I was freaking out, afraid the car would explode or catch fire. Maybe that was an overreaction.

But here was my thought process:

  • I am not prepared for this-what do I do?
  • My car recently went in for service, so this shouldn’t be happening!
  • What an inconvenience! But not only for me. When the car wouldn’t start again, my family had to get a car to pick us up-bailing me out was probably the last thing they wanted to do for their day.
  • You may have heard about it, but if you have not, a lady recently lost twelve of her dogs in an RV fire. I cannot begin to imagine how she must have felt or how scary that would be. (Sidenote: While the emotional loss is devastating, you can help contribute to the material restoration-find out more here). 

So I jumped out of the car and leashed the dogs hastily, practically dragging them all from the car as I grabbed my phone and ID and put some distance between the car and me and the dogs.

When the car had stopped expelling white from the hood, I tied two of the dogs to a cattle guard post away from the road, put the others in a down stay, and cautiously went and took out the owners manual. Then I called my family to ask them what to do. The car wouldn’t start either. My uncle told me that Honda’s have a safety feature where they shut down to prevent more damage being done which is wonderful. A towtruck had to come get the car and take it to an auto shop. Luckily I was in an area where I had at least some cell phone service, or this would have been a different story.

The dogs were troopers. It was a hot day (which is why we were going to play in water to enjoy the hot day). We walked around a little, but then decided to stay put in the shade. I had brought some drinking water and a dog bowl, so I poured water in the bowl and on them to help them stay cool.They didn’t seem to mind what was going on-they just seemed to think it was a grand ol’ adventure!

You probably have seen on Facebook or Instagram that we have some friends staying with us (in addition to Lacey the foster), so it was a little crazy to have this happen with all the dogs.

But it was their calmness and can-do attitude about the event that really got me thinking. They stayed so positive and thought it was just another adventure. They weren’t too fazed or super stressed-they were just happy to be out. While it kinda sucked that this happened, it was definitely a learning experience. And that’s just how it should be looked at-as a learning experience. The dogs stayed positive and found the good in the outing, so why shouldn’t I?

Here are some pictures from the outing:

An experience most dogs don’t have! Definitely a crazy experience with this many dogs!
Kronos and Terra
Beautiful and patient Miss Bella

Trying to stay cool in the shade-the hot ground burned their paws if they stayed still too long on it

So, while we didn’t make it to our destination this time, it doesn’t mean we won’t try again-we will have our day of fun swimming in the water! Hope you are having a great week and even if something bad happens, that you will be able to take a page from your dog’s book and find the positive spin in it.

Live Life to the Fullest,

Tiffany, Bella, Terra, & Kronos

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