I've always considered myself an "animal person," but for most of my life, I only focused on what affected me personally. I had a general awareness of some of the issues I address here, but they weren't really on the radar of my consciousness, so to speak. I knew about puppy mills but had no idea where they were or how they operated. I knew that animals were killed in shelters but I, like so many, believed that was because of a pet overpopulation problem.
All that changed in April of 2006, on Earth Day to be exact, when we had to say farewell to a very dear friend of ours. She lived a long, good life and while I knew we would have to let her go some day, losing her changed my heart. It became important to me to try to do things which might help other animals live the kind of life she enjoyed for so very many years; she was lucky to have been rescued by the love of my life who saved her from the end of a heavy logging chain in 1990. She had that second chance to be loved and to be part of our family. We have since lost our second dog, Aspy, due to age and disease. The way he left us haunts my sleep and I hope in time I will make peace with the circumstances and with shortcomings in my local veterinary community.
I consider myself an animal welfare advocate, armed with a laptop, some software and generous friends who are talented musicians and photographers. I make photo slide shows and videos set to music for animal welfare nonprofit groups and I make subject-matter slide shows about how well we perform our duties as stewards for companion animals. I also make public service announcements for television for nonprofit groups in hopes of reaching some people through the media. I know that my presentations won't rock the world, but if they can help save some animals or encourage some people to re-think their beliefs, behaviors or choices, I will have accomplished my goal. I have written local laws regarding animal welfare issues and have been involved in drafting legislation at the state level.
Thank you for visiting my site. If you have any comments, questions or feedback, please drop me a line at the address below. I understand that the views expressed on this site are not universally accepted by all. If you find a typo or a factual error on the site, please let me know. If you have what you consider a deep-seated philosophical objection to any positions presented here, I ask that you be respectful in any communication regarding your differing opinion.