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

For membership information or to make a donation contact: Doris Day Animal League, 227 Massachusetts Ave. NE, Ste. 100, Washington, D.C. 20002. Phone: 202-546-1761. E-mail: [email protected].

Who Is Jack Canfield?

Jack Canfield grew up surrounded by animals of every kind. There was always at least one dog—mostly collies and German shepherds, along with an occasional mutt—and two or three cats, plus hamsters, gerbils, rabbits, parakeets, white mice, box turtles, tropical fish, raccoons, a horse, a cow, a goat, and eventually a kennel full of rambunctious Afghan hounds. This love of animals led to an adult life filled with a series of wonderful dogs—a Samoyed, an English sheepdog and a golden retriever—as well as too many cats to keep track of, all of which have always become members of the family with full run of the house. Currently Jack is the proud owner of Daisy, a golden retriever, and three cats (Bodhi, Ashleigh and Rocky), as well as a pond full of magnificent koi and goldfish.

Jack Canfield is one of America’s leading experts in the development of human potential and personal effectiveness. He is both a dynamic, entertaining speaker and a highly sought-after trainer. Jack has a wonderful ability to inform and inspire audiences toward increased levels of self-esteem and peak performance.

He is the author and narrator of several bestselling audio- and videocassette programs, including
Self-Esteem and Peak Performance,
How to Build High Self-Esteem, Self-Esteem in the Classroom
and
Chicken
Soup for the Soul—Live.
He is regularly seen on television shows such as
Good Morning America, 20/20
and
NBC Nightly News.
Jack has coauthored numerous books, including the
Chicken Soup for the Soul
series,
Dare to Win
and
The Aladdin Factor
(all with Mark Victor Hansen),
100 Ways to Build Self-Concept in the Classroom
(with Harold C. Wells) and
Heart at Work
(with Jacqueline Miller).

Jack is a regularly featured speaker for professional associations, school districts, government agencies, churches, hospitals, sales organizations and corporations.

For further information about Jack’s books, tapes and training programs, or to schedule him for a presentation, please contact:

The Canfield Training Group
P.O. Box 30880 • Santa Barbara, CA 93130
phone: 805-563-2935 • fax: 805-563-2945
To e-mail or visit our Web site:
www.chickensoup.com

Who Is Mark Victor Hansen?

Mark Victor Hansen is a professional speaker who, in the last twenty years, has made over 4,000 presentations to more than 2 million people in thirty-two countries. His presentations cover sales excellence and strategies; personal empowerment and development; and how to triple your income and double your time off.

Mark has spent a lifetime dedicated to his mission of making a profound and positive difference in people’s lives. Throughout his career, he has inspired hundreds of thousands of people to create a more powerful and purposeful future for themselves while stimulating the sale of billions of dollars worth of goods and services.

Mark is a prolific writer and has authored
Future Diary, How to
Achieve Total Prosperity
and
The Miracle of Tithing.
He is coauthor of the
Chicken Soup for the Soul
series,
Dare to Win
and
The Aladdin Factor
(all with Jack Canfield) and
The Master Motivator
(with Joe Batten).

Mark has also produced a complete library of personal empowerment audio- and videocassette programs that have enabled his listeners to recognize and use their innate abilities in their business and personal lives. His message has made him a popular television and radio personality, with appearances on ABC, NBC, CBS, HBO, PBS and CNN. He has also appeared on the cover of numerous magazines, including
Success, Entrepreneur
and
Changes.

When Mark was a child, he only had one family dog. He was not then aware that his heart and home would eventually expand to include the forty-six animals that currently inhabit the Hansen compound, including four cats, three dogs, two birds, two horses, several goldfish, one bunny, one duck who thinks he is a chicken, and twenty-five chickens, all of which have names.

Mark is a big man with a heart and spirit to match—an inspiration to all who seek to better themselves.

For further information about Mark write:

P.O. Box 7665
Newport Beach, CA 92658
phone: 949-759-9304 or 800-433-2314
fax: 949-722-6912
Web site:
www.chickensoup.com

Who Is Marty Becker?

What Jacques Cousteau did for the oceans, what Carl Sagan did for space, Dr. Marty Becker is doing for pets.

As a veterinarian, noted author, university educator, media personality, industry spokesperson, professional speaker and pet lover, Dr. Becker is one of the most widely recognized family doctors for pets in the world. Not only is he one of the most visible and vocal proponents of the family-pet bond (“The Bond”), he coined the term. Dr. Becker has demonstrated an uncanny ability to create bonds that span geography, cultures and species.

In his multifaceted eighteen-year career, Dr. Becker has been at the forefront of changing the way we interact with and take responsibility for our pets. Dr. Becker is the author of the bestselling book,
Becoming Your Dog’s Best Friend.
He is also the practice leadership editor for
Veterinary Economics Magazine,
a featured columnist for
PetLife
Magazine
and a national spokesperson for Hallmark Cards Pet Love Greetings. In addition to teaching at all of the veterinary schools in the United States, he is also a popular guest on leading network and cable television shows.

Dr. Becker is an inspiring, entertaining and dynamic communicator and has relentlessly and enthusiastically promoted the powerful life-enhancing benefits of pets and people, living in harmony and interdependence. His engaging on-stage presence, excellent communication skills and zealous attitude make him at hit at meetings around the world. He develops and delivers custom-tailored keynote presentations, seminars and training courses for civic organizations, health care groups, universities and businesses on numerous topics including the people-pet partnership, optimal health, self-esteem, personal empowerment, team building and leadership issues.

For further information about Dr. Becker, contact:

Marty Becker, D.V.M.
250 2nd Ave. South, Ste. B2
Twin Falls, ID 83301
phone: 208-734-8174
fax: 208-733-5405
e-mail: [email protected]
Web site:
www.BondWorks.com

Who Is Carol Kline?

Carol Kline has been a pet lover her entire life. She is the codirector of the Noah’s Ark Animal Foundation Dog Rescue Program, in Fairfield, Iowa, a volunteer effort that saves lost, stray and abandoned dogs.

Carol spends many hours a week monitoring the fate of animals that are brought into the city pound. She also walks, feeds and “socializes” the dogs at the Noah’s Ark facility, a cageless shelter for cats and dogs. “The gratitude and love I receive from these animals are more fulfilling than any paycheck I could ever receive. Volunteering time with the dogs fills my heart, and brings great joy to my life.”

Coauthoring
Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul
has strengthened her existing appreciation for all animals and deepened her commitment to animal-rescue work.

A freelance writer for ten years, Carol, who has a B.A. in literature, has written for newspapers, newsletters and other publications. Recently she has contributed stories and her editing talents to other
Chicken Soup for the Soul
books.

In addition to her writing and animal work, Carol is also a speaker, self-esteem facilitator and certified instructor of the parenting skills program,
Redirecting Children’s Behavior
(RCB). The first RCB instructor in Iowa, Carol presents workshops and in-service programs for childcare providers, and teaches a five-week program for parents. She has also been a counselor at a self-esteem camp in Missouri for teens and kids. Since 1975, Carol has taught stress-management programs to the general public. In 1990, she studied with Jack Canfield, and since then has assisted as a facilitator in his annual Train the Trainers program. Her dynamic and engaging style has won her enthusiastic receptions from the various audiences she addresses.

Carol has the good fortune to be married to Larry Kline, and is stepmother to Lorin and McKenna. Besides her “main” dog, Hannah, Carol houses foster dogs until they find permanent homes.

You may contact Carol at:

P.O. Box 1262 • Fairfield, IA 52556
phone: 515-469-3889 • fax: 515-472-3720
e-mail: [email protected]

Contributors

Many of the stories in this book were taken from books we have read which are acknowledged in the Permissions section. If you would like to contact authors for information on their books, tapes or seminars, you can reach them at the addresses and phone numbers provided.

Many of the stories were also contributed by readers like yourself, who responded to our request for stories. We have also included information about them.

Vickie Lynne Agee
earned her bachelor’s degree in English and psychology from Brigham Young University in 1982. She has taught in these two fields for the past fourteen years. Currently, she teaches seventh-grade English at Columbiana Middle School, near Birmingham, Alabama. She enjoys freelance writing in her spare time.

George Baker, D.V.M.,
has been in a general rural veterinary practice for thirty-four years. His primary area of expertise is with horses. He is currently accumulating material for a book he plans to write about his years of practice, particularly special patients he has come to know.

Fred Bauer,
author of many bestselling books, is one of the country’s favorite inspirational writers. Former executive editor of
Guideposts
magazine, he is the founder and president of Littlebrook Publishing, Inc., Princeton, New Jersey.

Jan K. Stewart Bass
is a freelance writer, newspaper columnist and author of the award-winning book,
At Home in the Heartland: Seasons of Serenity.
She is a member of the National Federation of Press Women and founder of Stillmeadow Society of Iowa. You may contact her at 119 Upland Dr., Council Bluffs, IA 51503.

Gregg Bassett
is the founder and president of The Squirrel Lover’s Club as well as the editor of the club’s newsletter,
In a Nutshell.
The international club serves the interests of squirrels and squirrel lovers and can be reached at 318 W. Fremont Ave., Elmhurst, IL 60126, or by calling 630-833-1117.

Christine E. Belleris
is the editorial director at Health Communications, Inc. (HCI), the publisher of the
Chicken Soup for the Soul
series. A native of Denver, Colorado, she now lives in Boca Raton, Florida, with her husband, Jeff, and their animal family: Wilma, a loving mixed-breed dog; Rufus, a spirited gray tabby cat; and Isis, a snow-white 21-year-old kitty. A devoted animal lover, Christine spends her spare time feeding and finding homes for the parade of stray animals that seem to find their way to the HCI offices.

Jean Brody
is a national magazine columnist, Kentucky newspaper columnist, creative writing teacher and a public motivational/inspirational speaker. She lives with her husband, a Newfoundland dog, three cats and a pet Nubian goat on their Thoroughbred horse farm, Jean & Gene Farm. Jean has published dozens of short stories, articles and
Braille Me,
a compilation of her published work.

Carolyn Butler,
directs Changes: The Support for People and Pets Program at Colorado State University’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital. She coauthored
The
Human-Animal Bond and Grief
and
Friends for Life: Loving and Losing Your Animal
Companion
and owns World by the Tail, Inc., the producers of ClayPaws, the original paw print kit.

Leona Campbell
has written for the
Idaho Outdoors
magazine,
Valley News,
Country Woman
magazine,
Idaho Statesman Newspaper
and
Poet Voices
magazine. Leona is a 1994 graduate of the Christian Writer’s Institute. She is presently writing a book entitled
Talk to God: He Listens 24 Hours a Day
.

Jo Coudert
is a freelance writer, a frequent contributor to
Woman’s Day
and
Reader’s Digest,
and the author of seven books, among them the bestselling
Advice from a Failure
. Her most recent works are
Seven Cats and the Art of Living,
The Ditchdigger’s Daughters
and the forthcoming
The Good Shepherd
.

Cerie L. Couture, D.V.M.,
is a veterinarian in Norwich, Vermont. She enjoys running with her Shetland sheepdog, Mollie, and hiking in the Green Mountains with her family. She can be reached at 253 River Rd., Norwich, VT 05055.

Paul C. Dahm
holds a B.S. and a master’s degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He is active in civil rights, was a charter member of NOW, and has been a Dodger fan since the arrival of Jackie Robinson. He is a practicing grief counselor.

Angel Di Benedetto
is an internationally recognized Guild Certified Feldenkrais Trainer originally from Manhattan. Through The Feldenkrais Method, her teaching focuses on developing creativity to enhance artistic expression, self-confidence, personal awareness and one’s quality of life. She can be reached in South Florida at 305-661-5227, or by fax at 305-669-4350, or via e-mail at [email protected].