About Me
and the Dog
who Rescued Me

When I was very young, I wanted a pony. The problem was, there wasn’t much room for a pony on the quarter-acre of suburban land we called home. Like most children, though, that fact didn’t stop me from letting my parents know just how determined I was to get my way.

I would scrawl in my childlike block-print, “I want a Pony” in colorful shades of Crayola on construction paper and tape it in selected locations around the house where my parents couldn’t miss it – like under the toilet seat lid, for example.

Mom and dad were tolerant, but as time passed, it became obvious that I was not going to come home from pre-school one day to find a pony hitched to our garage door. As I matured (okay, I was about seven now), I realized that my pony ambitions probably weren’t going to come to pass, so I switched gears a little bit and focused on a compromise – a dog.

For a while, even that possibility seemed slim, until one day dad came home from “playing golf” with something wriggling in the pocket of his nylon golf jacket. Then, to my delight (and the delight of my mom), he reached inside and gently removed a tiny, squirming four-legged creature about the size of a mouse. She was so tiny, in fact, that when he placed her on the floor, her legs spread out in all directions on the tile, unable yet to even hold herself stable.

This furry little creature turned out to be my four-legged sister, Taffy, an adorable apricot-colored toy poodle who ruled our family for nearly 17 years.

I loved Taffy very much, but she was definitely my parents’ “child”. While I was busy causing trouble going through puberty, then finally left the nest to attend college, Taffy was the “good child”.

My next encounter with dogs wouldn’t come until many years after Taffy passed away. That’s when my husband and I decided to complete our family of two with a child of our own – a four-legged child, that is. This time, we decided to rescue a dog by adopting from an animal shelter.

It was the best decision I ever made.

As I write this, the result of that decision, Chase (who you’ll see here and throughout this site), is lying at the foot of the bed, curled up into an innocent ball of shiny black fur and pointy ears. His eyes are closed, and his face is nestled into a soft throw blanket on top of the comforter. Just watching his back move slowly up and down as he softly breathes gives me great comfort and happiness. They say I rescued him, but I know that we really rescued each other. He is my joy.

That joy he has created in me has spread far more than I ever could have imagined. It has imparted in me a sense of wonder and deep love for all animals, and has impassioned me to become a voice for animals that suffer at the soulless hands of humans that neglect, mistreat and abuse them.

I am now a vegetarian, a member of The Humane Society of the United States and PETA, an animal rights advocate, a volunteer and board member of the no-kill shelter where I adopted Chase, and a nationally published writer of dog-related health topics.

When Chase and I found each other, his life to date had not been easy. He’d lived at the shelter for more than six months (I am forever indebted to them that they are no-kill), he suffered from allergies to just about everything, he was underweight and his nerves had actually caused him to have colitis.

It was when I realized that traditional veterinary medicine (as well-meaning as it is), is very much like traditional human medicine (treat the illness, not the being), that I decided to take Chase’s care into my own hands. Determined that his body would not fall prey to endless rounds of steroid shots and prescription medicines, I began to research natural and alternative means to heal him.

The more books I poured over and articles I read, I became more and more certain that our traditional vet was simply “putting a bandage on the problem” – a bandage that in the long run was going to end up harming Chase more than helping him. I knew there had to be a better way – a natural way – to help his body to heal itself, to once again find balance and to thrive and become vibrant.

I was right.

I began by saying “no” to the harmful drugs. Then I supplied Chase’s body with the natural, nutrient-rich diet of his ancestors – a raw carnivore diet. This decision was made after careful research, and it was the best decision I could have made for his health.

That was more than seven years ago.

Chase is now at least eight years old. No more clumps of hair fall out of his body. No longer does he relentlessly scratch and bite at himself, unable to squelch the terrible itching. No longer does he wake us in the middle of the night crying because he has diarrhea.

Inspired by Chase, my mission is to spread the word to as many people as possible about the beauty of dogs and to provide tools and information to help us humans become the best “dog parents” possible.

I firmly believe that information is the key to taking control – both of our own lives and the lives of the animals we love. Without information, we are helpless. It was information that enabled me to change Chase’s health, and his life. It is such information that I want to share with you on this site.

I take the research and credibility of this information very seriously. This is the information I use to guide Chase’s care, and I would never rely on anything but the best for him.

I am not a veterinarian or a medical professional. This information is provided to help you make the most enlightened decisions possible about finding and caring for dogs. It is intended for educational purposes only, and is not meant to take the place of veterinary care or advice. If you feel that your dog is sick, you should take him to see his veterinarian immediately.

By the way, if you're like me and have knowledge or experience that others would want, I can't speak highly enough about the company SBI! (Site Build It!). It's allowed me to grow my passion for dogs into a part-time business. If you also have a passion and would like to know how I'm doing this, read about how I've built this site using SiteBuildIt!. I hope it helps you as much as it's helped me.

Return to the Top of the About Me Page

Return to The Happy Dog Spot Home Page