Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul (43 page)

Beth McCrea
received her B.A. fromIowa State University in 2002. She teaches seventh-grade language arts in Littleton, Colorado. She enjoys traveling, hiking, reading and watching football.

Wilma Melville
is the founder and executive director of the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation located in Ojai, California. Started in 1995, the foundation now has sixty-five active Canine Search Teams that are ready to be deployed to disasters around the world. For more information, visit
www.SearchDogFoundation.org
or call 888-4K9-HERO.

Rosemarie Miele
is a graduate of Dominican College, Orangeburg, New York. She retired from KPMG where she was a senior human resources business consultant. She spends her free time traveling, doing volunteer work, enjoying her grandchildren and writing children’s stories. Please e-mail her at:
[email protected]
.

When not barricading his home against his ravenous dog,
SamMinier
spends his free time in more lighthearted pursuits—writing horror stories and poetry! Brave souls can sample his work at:
www.samuelminier.com
.

Hester Mundis
is an animal-loving comedy writer and the author of numerous books, including the autobiographical
No, He’s Not aMonkey, He’s an Ape and He’s
My Son
. She and her husband, Ron VanWarmer, currently share their upstate New York lives with a soft-coated wheaten terrier and a suave cockatiel.

Kelly Munjoy
is currently working on her B.A. degree. She attends college classes part-time, as well as working a full-time job in customer service. Kelly enjoys spending time with her family and friends as well as reading and writing. She plans to write young adult fantasy novels and short stories. Please email her at:
[email protected]
.

Eleanor Whitney Nelson,
a geologistwho has enjoyed a career in international mineral exploration, today concentrates on writing. Her stories have been published in
OASIS Journal
2004 and
A Way with Murder: An Anthology of Arizona
Mystery Writers.
She lives in Tucson with her dogs, horses, cat and husband.

Diane Nichols
is the author of
A Prison of My Own,
the true story of her husband’s incarceration for the murder of his mistress and their family’s journey to forgiving and restoration (as seen on
The Montel Williams Show
). For more information, please visit her author’s Web site at:
www.dianenichols.com
.

Lorena O’Connor
is now a retired legal secretary. She has written and sold many stories to a variety of publications. She likes movies, music, sports and writing, not necessarily in that order. She plans to self-publish a children’s book after recovering from a serious surgery. You can reach her at:
[email protected]
.

Born in Brooklyn,
Don Orehek
attended the High School of Industrial Arts and the School of Visual Arts. His cartoons have appeared in the
Saturday
Evening Post, Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan
and
Playboy
—to name a few! Don has illustrated over thirty joke books, does caricatures and teaches cartooning to kids. He has won the National Cartoonists Society’s Best Gag Cartoonist award four times.

Brothers
Trevor and Drew Orsinger
wrote
The Firefighter’s Best Friend
for Lake Claremont Press (
www.lakeclaremont.com
), an independent publisher specializing in books on Chicago. A portion of the proceeds from this book are donated to the Illinois Fire Safety Alliance’s summer camp for children who suffer from burn injuries.

Mark Parisi
’s “Off the Mark” comic panel has been syndicated since 1987 and is distributed by United Media. Mark’s humor also graces greeting cards, T-shirts, calendars, magazines, newsletters and books, including his newest cartoon book
Chew This Book
with over 100 dog cartoons. Please vist his Web site at
www.offthemark.com
. Lynn is his wife/business partner, and their daughter, Jenny, contributes with inspiration.

After graduating fromUCLA,
Eve Ann Porinchak
was a social worker,medical student and first-grade teacher. An active member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers/Illustrators, she now writes children’s books and paints. Eve enjoys tennis, traveling, snowboarding, hiking and running with her husband and beloved springer spaniels. Contact:
[email protected]
.

Stacy Pratt
received her bachelor’s degree from Northeastern State University in Oklahoma and her master’s degree from the University of Arkansas. A citizen of the Creek Nation of Oklahoma, she lives in Italy with her husband. She writes poetry and is currently researching the life of St. Valerie.

Robin Pressnall
is a singer, a writer and cofounder of Small Paws Rescue, a worldwide nonprofit organization (
smallpawsrescue.org
) dedicated to saving the “unwanted” dogs of society and finding them “forever-homes.” Robin lives in Tulsa with her husband, Dale, and their six dogs, ranging from a St. Bernard to a bichon frise.

Andrea Burke Redd, DVM,
received her bachelor of science degree, cum laude, in zoology from North Carolina State University in 1993. She received her doctorate of veterinary medicine (DVM) from North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1997. She is currently practicing veterinarymedicine at amixed animal practice in Halifax, Virginia. She is married with two sons. She is active in her church and enjoys spending her free time with her family. She enjoys writing and has been published in
Veterinary
Economics
magazine. E-mail her at:
[email protected]
.

B. J. Reinhard
writes to give readers hope and encourage them to live their dreams. Along with various magazine articles and stories, she is the author of an award-winning picture book,
Sanji’s Seed,
and two nonfiction books,
Glow-in-the Dark Fish
and
Our Place in Space.
You can reach her through:
www.bjreinhard.com
.

Jennifer Renee Remeta
has been an animal lover her entire life. Recently married, she and her husband, Nicklas, proudly own Diesel, the Great Dane, Abby, the wonderful Lab, and Pandora, the queen cat. They enjoy spending time with friends and family, and Jennifer hopes to continue her writing in the future.

Debbie Roppolo
is a freelance writer and a student at St. Edward’s University where she is pursuing a degree in anthropology. Debbie enjoys working with her horses, traveling and spending time with her family. She currently resides in San Marcos, Texas, with her husband and two boys.

Micki Ruiz
lives in South Florida with her husband, Steve. A published author, she writes short stories and historical fiction, and is (still) hard at work on her novel, a fantasy adventure. This is her first nonfiction work. Please email her at:
[email protected]
.

Kathy Salzberg
has been a professional pet groomer and owner of the Village Groomer in Walpole, Massachusetts, for thirty years. She is also an award-winning magazine writer who has written “How to Start a Home-Based Pet Care Business” and contributed several chapters to
The Dog Bible
. She is currently working on
The Everything Small Dogs Book
and can be reached online at:
[email protected]
.

Linda Saraco
is an animal massage therapist. At her Boston-area grooming shop, she offers holistic canine services and education. Linda also teaches the InTuneGroom method of energy work, which she developed. Linda loves spending time with her dogs and hopes to publish her series of children’s books. E-mail her at:
[email protected]
.

Valery Selzer Siegel
received her B.A. in English from Binghamton University and her M.A. in Elementary Education from Adelphi University. She advocates on behalf of children in a variety of capacities, including writing inspirational picture books. Valery lives in New York with her husband and three children. Please e-mail her at:
[email protected]
.

Stefany Lynne Smith
is the founder and director of Southwest German Shepherd Rescue, a nonprofit, 501(c)3 organization, headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. They are committed to the rescue, rehab and re-homing of German shepherd dogs in need, in addition to training and education.

Patricia Ann Smith
is director of Operations/Programs at the Ronald McDonald House at Stanford, Palo Alto, California. She wrote the story “Can’t Help Falling in Love” when on staff at the Humane Society Silicon Valley. Her book,
Introduction to Compassion Fatigue in the Helping Professions
will be published by Brunner-Routledge in 2005.

Laura Sobchik
wrote her story, “Raising a Star,” as her college entrance essay to the University of Notre Dame. She graduated from Notre Dame in 2002 and now teaches third grade in Fullerton, California. She and her family have raised eleven guide dog puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind, Inc. in San Rafael, California. Five of their puppies graduated as guide dogs with a visually impaired partner and six were career-changed and now enjoy wonderful lives as pets. For more information about raising a guide dog puppy, please visit:
www.guidedogs.com
.

Jennifer Gay Summers
is a contributing writer to
Whole Life Times
magazine and has also written for
Orange County Family Magazine
. She and her veterinarian have been married for twelve years, and their menagerie includes a dog, cat, fish and beloved daughter. Jennifer can be reached at:
jgsummers@
verizon.net
.

Debra Szot
has always loved animals. She volunteers for Boxer and Boston Terrier Rescue. She became involved in rescue because of a Scottish terrier namedMacKenzie who saved her life and loved her unconditionally. She lives in Michigan with her husband, David, and daughter, Heather. Please e-mail her at:
[email protected]
.

Audrey Thomasson
left a globe-trotting writing career to move to White Stone, Virginia, population: 360. Her choices were driven by Kody, a rescued dog whose therapy included daily swims in their river. When Kody passed, she found comfort in writing his memorial, and in the process realized this magnificent companion had taught her about living. His story inspired “Animal Tails,” a public service newspaper column dedicated to pets and rescue volunteers. Audrey can be reached by e-mail at:
[email protected]
. Information on her pet column is available at:
www.animaltails.org
.

Bob Toren
is a pioneer in outdoor portraiture, photojournalist and a columnist for the
Georgetown Gazette,
Georgetown, California. He writes frequently of the cat family with whom he shares his Sierra hilltop. He is presently putting a collection of the columns together for book publication. Contact him at:
[email protected]
.

Jackie Tortoriello
currently resides in New Jersey, with her family, friends and two dogs. She’s passionate about them, spirituality, music and writing, and is fervently pursuing a writing career. Until then, Jackie is honored to be instructing the mentally challenged at a life skills program. She may be reached at:
[email protected]
.

Anne Watkins
is the author of
The Conure Handbook
(Barron’s Educational Series, Inc.). A full-time writer, her work has appeared in numerous magazines, newspapers, books and Web sites. She and husband, Allen, live in Vinemont, Alabama, where they love to spoil their grandchildren, Bailey, Chelsea and Tyler. See her Web site:
www.geocities.com/anne_c_watkins
.

Christine Watkins
has been a flight attendant for over thirty years. In her spare time, she and her puppy, Maverick, volunteer with the Helen Woodward Animal Center in San Diego, California, where they visit children’s centers. Currently, Christi is studying the craft of writing and editing.

Jean M. Wensink
is an elementary teacher and freelance writer. She lives in ruralWisconsin with her husband and two daughters. She loves the outdoors, music, crafts and, of course, her dogs Rocky and Snickers.

Born in England,
Bill Westhead
received his bachelor of science degree in textile engineering from Leeds University. After working in the United Kingdom, he and his family emigrated to the United States in 1973. Retired, he enjoys writing (publishing three historical novels), community theater and several community service clubs. Contact him at:
[email protected]
.

Dave Wiley
is an information technology professional who enjoys just about anything. He likes taking on Tim-the-Toolman-like projects while achieving similar results, playing with his son, camping, hiking with the dogs, performing confirmation and obedience events with the dogs, and generally just doing stuff that helps him to avoid any type of housecleaning. He is hoping to become a writer someday when he grows up. He can be reached by e-mail at:
[email protected]
.

Elizabeth Wrenn
’s first novel will be published by NAL/Penguin in 2006. When a wife and mother in a mid-life crisis volunteers to raise a puppy for K-9 Eyes for the Blind, an enthusiastic yellow Lab helps her to find what she didn’t even realize was missing in her life—herself.

Permissions

We would like to acknowledge the following publishers and individuals for permission to reprint the following material. (Note: The stories that were written by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Marty Becker, Carol Kline or Amy D. Shojai are not included in this listing.)