01/02/2026
Our latest newsletter I suspect some of you will appreciate:
Dear Ancient Traditions Family,
It is said that storytelling is medicine for the Soul, and a far better teacher than a textbook could ever be. Today, as we welcome a new year full of new experiences and stories yet to be told, we wanted to take a moment to share a personal one with you. As many of you know, Dr. Angela recently went through a very trying time, in which her dogs had run away for several days and were nowhere to be found. If you’ve been in the office lately, you’ve probably heard the outcome and all of the effort that went into bringing them home safely, but we share it here as a reminder of one of our most important values in looking ahead to 2026 - Community. It is the care and support of others that matters most - whether it’s friends, family, neighbors, or complete strangers - certainly in our worst times, but even when we are celebrating and sharing our joys. We are grateful to have known each and every one of you, and look forward to meeting more new friends as this year unfolds. Wishing you blessings of peace and many good things to come, and an abundance of love and support whenever and however you need it most.
Warmly - Dr. Angela & Erica
Community - An Incredible Reminder
I remember the first time I saw a page about a missing dog back in 2012. The family created this page for their missing Australian shepherd. The story tore at my heart and I checked the page faithfully for a year+. This dog never came home and I couldn’t imagine what that must have felt like for them. I knew NOTHING about them and their dog, other than the page info, and I was devastated.
Since that time, Ancient Traditions has donated to many animal support organizations. Hope for Paws, Granite State Dog Recovery, Red Rover. We donate a gift certificate to the NHSPCA every year. So essentially YOU all have helped us support these organizations.
Many of you have met Lola, my rescue dog from Mississippi. She is spunky and sassy. Friends say she is definitely MY dog. New to the family in June was DJ, a rescue doodle mix from Tennessee. Goofy and pure love, he is so sweet. On December 14th at 1 pm up in Danbury, Lola & DJ took off into the snow. It was my fault. I have not been letting Lola off leash since her encounter with a porcupine in September. But on this particular day, I felt badly when she & DJ started to wrestle in the snow. I took the leash off and BAM! She TOOK OFF into the woods with DJ in hot pursuit. It was 0°F that night. They did not come back. We were DEVASTATED. We immediately hired a drone at the suggestion of others, and he came on Monday. Unfortunately, he did not have the level of experience and knowledge needed, and there were no sightings at all. In the meantime, I posted on EVERY page I could think of. The local town of Danbury page, many dog pages, many local town pages. I called the police. I put photos/ posters with our phone numbers EVERYWHERE. The response was amazing. So many people were sending us messages, responding to our posts, commenting that they were keeping an eye out for the dogs. It was UNREAL. You can imagine sleep was elusive. There were NO sightings at all. We were beyond concerned. On Tuesday, I called a wildlife tracker who told me he had never searched for a dog but was willing to try. He showed up 2 hours later with a tracker friend to look, along with a couple who saw one of the posts and had driven 75 minutes to help us look. My dearest friend, Arlene, showed up Monday night and stayed with us. She & I snow-shoed through the forest, walked along roads, knocked on doors. I was grateful for all of the walking I have been doing these past 6+ months!
At the end of the day Tuesday, with NO SIGHTINGS, this lovely couple who drove from Barnstead, NH suggested I call a different drone person. His name is Rob and he has found many dogs, people and other creatures. I hired him to come Wednesday morning. The couple offered to come back to help. One of the trackers offered to return. The neighbor whose dogs have taken off into the same area offered to spend the day with us, searching.
Tuesday evening about 30 minutes after hiring drone #2, I had a call. A local person saw one of the posters we put up. He had a sighting on his wildlife camera THAT MORNING – 3 miles from the house. We were SHOCKED. They were TOGETHER which was a HUGE relief. He sent us a video of them running along in the snow. Lola is street-smart. DJ is not. A break in the case.
Wednesday, with a team of 8, including the drone operator, we drove out onto Class VI roads with big pickup trucks, all-wheel drive engaged the entire time through deep snow, and the drone was launched. Three of us hiked through deep snow alongside moose & deer tracks to the location of the wildlife camera. We saw tracks but they went in many directions - it was overwhelming. We returned to base camp and the wildlife tracker took over that area with his search dog. We moved the base camp a mile+ west and parked on the driveway of a couple. When you are trudging across people’s land, it is important to ask for permission as many want NO trespassers. This lovely older couple welcomed us with open arms. The drone was launched again and within 15 minutes, DJ was spotted about 2/3 of a mile from our location, resting under a tree. After being in the wild, dogs go into fight or flight and can be wary of coming to you. As I am the one who he knows, I was the one who was to go to him. My neighbor, who I had just met the day before, and I, hiked up a steep hill through 2 feet of snow. The hill had been clear cut so there were many stumps and roots to get tangled up in. Which I did. Once we got closer, I had to head up alone so as not to scare him away. Several of us had radios and the drone operator was guiding us to the right location. “Go towards that rock that is the size of a cabin, now turn at that clump of trees, another 50 feet and make a sharp left...” I have never been a part of such a rescue mission, especially one that rested on me staying 100% calm and focused. But this was a team effort. I approached our boy who was sleeping and called his name. Initially he growled at me, startled from his sleep. I started feeding him fresh roasted chicken (aka, stinky food). He calmed right down and tried to stand up. He was in ROUGH shape and now I had to guide him down this steep, stump-covered hill. Covered in frostbite and struggling to walk, I coached him with chicken and we took our time. The drone was still looking for Lola. I got DJ down to a flat area and my friend took over, carrying him a few feet then resting. When he saw his dad (who couldn’t climb due to his own back issues), he got up and was able to walk over to him. One down. One to go.
I started climbing back up the mountain with the tracker and my neighbor. After about 15 minutes, I stopped and decided to head down. I was about to become a liability as I was worn out. I knew intuitively that Lola was not up there. I headed down. 10 minutes into my decent, a different neighbor called. Lola had made it back to his house and was in his yard. He gave her some food and walked her to our house. I alerted the others (radios are amazing!) and we aborted the mission. We all descended, packed up and drove the 15 minutes back to the house. A house full of new friends, we had an amazing reunion full of joy, relief and gratitude. A miracle for sure. DJ was taken to the Emergency Vet to treat his dehydration, fever and frostbite. Lola was okay, but went the next day to get checked out.
Through this experience there were so many people we have never met who sent the most amazing, heartfelt messages. We met neighbors hiking in the woods with their own dogs, searching every day. We were wrapped up in a community we did not know 4 days prior. People praying, searching, walking the woods near their homes, sending suggestions. It was INCREDIBLE. Several hundred people reached out. Who knows how many did not reach out but followed the story. These intense moments in our lives give us pause. We feel the magic of what is important. What matters. Connection. Sharing a common goal or desire. Believing in the power of group intention, prayer. The common love for animals. Our story ended beautifully. Our dogs are safe, healthy and putting weight back on. Their frostbite has healed and they are happy. They are also about to be the owners of some pretty fancy GPS collars. I share this story because I want to thank each of you for being part of this community of healing we have created. One in which we are all working towards being the best version of ourselves. Not just physically but mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
2025 was an intense year for many. On different levels. We saw engagements, marriages, births, deaths, divorces and connections. I truly believe what we all seek is to know we are not the only ones who have these thoughts, struggles, challenges and dreams. We want to share them.
May 2026 bring you deep healing, love and connection.
From the bottom of my heart,
Dr. Angela
