Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul (44 page)

Karen Del Tufo
was born in Brooklyn, New York. She attended John Adams High School and Brookdale Community College, and graduated from the Long Ridge Writers Group. She has published poems in the
Selected Works of
Our Worlds Best Poets, Great Poems of Our Times, The Hale House Newsletter, The
International Society of Authors and Artists
and local newspapers.

Robin Downing, D.V.M.,
is owner of Windsor Veterinary Clinic, PC, in Windsor, Colorado, a progressive veterinary practice accredited by the American Animal Hospital Association. She is a well-known speaker and trainer who was named the Up and Coming Veterinarian of the Year for the state of Colorado in 1995, and who in 1996 was named the Outstanding Woman Veterinarian of the Year in North America. Dr. Downing shares her home and clinic with an assortment of animals, including ten cats, three dogs, several birds, a rabbit, a guinea pig, a hedgehog and a gray squirrel.

Judy Doyle
has been adopting and rescuing parrots and educating the public about them for over ten years. She visits elementary schools with her feathered friends and writes for local bird club publications on care and nutrition for healthier and happier parrots.

S. C. Edwards,
born into the world as “Robert,” credits his two sons and their wonderment with this earth as his driving force. Edwards believes that everyone needs to surround themselves with kindred in order to touch the soul of humankind. A Harley-riding jack-of-all-trades, he is now a middle manager for corporate America.

Janet Foley, D.V.M.,
is a small-animal practitioner in Northern Virginia. She shares her home with her husband and three cats. In her spare time, she writes stories about her adventures in small-animal practice and about her pets.

Toni Fulco
has authored over 150 articles, stories and poems in national magazines and anthologies. She raises cockatiels at home and is known locally as “the bird lady” for her affectionate, talkative, hand-fed babies. Toni can be reached at 89 Penn Estates, E. Stroudsburg, PA 18301, or by calling 717-421-3417.

David Giannelli
has been a New York City fireman since 1975 and has been involved in numerous human and animal rescues. David has always been an animal lover and worked in a veterinary hospital when he was a teenager, when he first learned about animal behavior. He can be reached at Ladder Co. 175, Engine 332, 165 Bradford St., Brooklyn, NY 11207.

Bill Goss
is a highly sought-after professional speaker and author of
The
Luckiest Unlucky Man Alive
. Bill’s inspiring and hilarious true story about a garbage man who becomes a Navy pilot has been featured internationally on radio and television shows such as
Extra, The 700 Club
and KIIS 102.7. Contact him at P.O. Box 7060, Orange Park, FL 32073, or by calling 904-278-8900. His Web site is
www.bookworld.com/luckiest.

Bonnie Compton Hanson,
writer/speaker, is coauthor of three books plus hundreds of published poems and articles. Her family includes husband Don, sons, grandsons, cats, birds and possums! You can reach Bonnie at 3330 S. Lowell St., Santa Ana, CA 92707; phone 714-751-7824; e-mail [email protected].

Earl Holliman
is the president of Actors and Others for Animals. If you would like further information please write him at 11523 Burbank Blvd., North Hollywood, CA 91601-2309.

Bill Holton
is graciously allowed to share his home with three demanding yet adorable Siamese cats and his demanding yet adorable wife, Tara. Bill is a freelance writer from Richmond, Virginia. When not feverishly begging magazine editors for assignments, he actually dreams of retiring to the Florida Keys, where he will concentrate his boundless energy on fishing. He can be reached at [email protected].

Roma Ihnatowycz
is a journalist who worked four years as a correspondent in Kiev, initially for United Press International and then for the Associated Press. Roma is currently writing a book on Ukrainian cuisine and can be reached at 72 Sunnylea Ave. E, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M8Y 2K6.

Lynn A. Kerman
is a homegrown urban mystic who spends as much time frolicking and communing in the wilderness as possible. She is available for writing, speaking, and holding classes and individual sessions on spiritual awakening. This is her effortless work and joy. You may contact her at 310-391-2049 or 818-777-2860, or e-mail her at [email protected].

Henry (Hank) Ketcham
created DENNIS THE MENACE in October 1950 and it was syndicated the following March. Today DENNIS THE MENACE is distributed by North America Syndicate to more than 1,200 newspapers in 48 countries and is translated into 19 languages.

Shawnacy Kiker
is a nineteen-year-old Christian college student with a passion for words and for the God who created them. Contact Shawnacy at 310-397-0161, or by writing her at 2532 Lincoln Blvd., Suite 500, Marina Del Rey, CA 90291 with your story. She would love to help you write it!

Paul H. King, D.V.M.,
is director of Veterinary Technical and Professional Support for Ralston Purina Company. Paul has spoken at hundreds of U.S. and international veterinary meetings. He developed the Purina “Caring For Pets” program and is the editor of
Dietary Management in Small Animal Practice.

Joe Kirkup
’s essays have appeared in weekly magazines throughout the U.S. He is the recipient of two Sigma Delta Chi awards for feature writing. An anthology,
Life Sentences,
can be purchased from Xpress, P.O. Box 63, Colchester, CT 06415. Call 860-572-0079 or e-mail at [email protected].

Larry Paul Kline
is a pilot, sailor, inventor and real estate developer who currently lives in Fairfield, Iowa. He has a wife, Carol, and children, Lorin and McKenna. Although it’s been a long time since his “mountain man” days, he still enjoys adventure, animals and the wilderness. Some of his goals include: designing living systems for complete self-sufficiency, living on a sailboat while exploring the world, and experiencing inner joy and peace in every moment. Larry can be reached at P.O. Box 1262, Fairfield, IA 52556.

Laurel Lagoni
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.

Art Linkletter
is the originator of
Kids Say the Darndest Things
and star of
CBS
House Party
for 26 years and NBC’s
People Are Funny
for 19 years.

Mary Marcdante
is an inspiring and compassionate professional speaker, trainer and author whose programs on personal change, stress management, and communication bring insights, solutions and fun to conventions, businesses, communities and health care conferences around the world. She helps people make healthier choices, push personal boundaries and live a more creative, inspired and fulfilling life. She is the author of
Inspiring Words for
Inspiring People
and the upcoming
Questions for My Mother
. She can be reached at 619-792-6786. Write P.O. Box 2417, Del Mar, CA 92014, or e-mail mmarcdante@ aol.com.

Sara L. (Robinson) Mark, D.V.M.,
owns a small-animal practice and has interest in animal-assisted therapy programs and zoonotic disease control. In The Children’s Hospital Prescription Pet Program since 1985, Sara authored the program’s original protocol and advocates setting up similar hospital-based programs. She can be reached at Southwest Veterinary Hospital, 250 E. Dry Creek Rd., Littleton, CO 80122.

Yvonne A. Martell
is a sixty-nine-year-old retired person who lives with her beloved pet in a lovely small town in California. She has never before written anything for publication, but couldn’t resist the opportunity to share her “pet” true story with other pet lovers.

Jane Martin
(Jana to friends), the author and editor of many books, including
Cats in Love
and
Scarlett Saves Her Family,
has appeared on
Geraldo Rivera
and Fox News and in
Cosmopolitan
and
People
magazines. Now completing a novel, she shares a Brooklyn warehouse with her boyfriend and a dog.

Dennis McIntosh, D.V.M.,
veterinary practitioner for thirty years, has been published in
Veterinary Economics, Veterinary Forum, D.V.M. Management
and others. Active in veterinary associations and youth groups, he teaches veterinary technicians and also provides grief counseling. He can be reached at 13039 Nacogdoches, San Antonio, TX 78217 or by calling 210-656-1444.

Faith McNulty
’s career as an observer and advocate for wildlife began with the story of Mousie, first published in 1964. Since then her writing on whooping cranes, whales, blackfooted ferrets and other endangered species has appeared in
Audubon Magazine
and
The New Yorker,
and in book form. You can contact Faith by e-mail at [email protected].

W. W. Meade
started writing at the age of fourteen. His first story was published in
Collier
magazine at the age of twenty-two. He wrote short fiction stories for the
Saturday Evening Post, Gentlemen’s Quarterly
and several others. He then turned to writing nonfiction for magazines such as
Cosmopolitan, Redbook
and the
Reader’s Digest
. Later he took a position in the publishing world and became the managing editor of
Cosmopolitan
and then the managing editor of the
Reader’s Digest Book Club
. His last position in publishing was president and editor in chief of Avon Books, which he continued to do for ten years. Today, Walter is retired and writing short stories for
Reader’s Digest
as well as many other magazines and periodicals. He can be reached at 4561 NW 67 Terrace, Lauderhill, FL 33319.

Cathy Miller
is a Canadian teacher and freelance writer.
Delayed Delivery
first won a short story contest in her hometown of Sudbury, Ontario, in 1992. The following year it was published in
Christmas in My Heart 2
, edited by Joe Wheeler, Review & Herald Publishing, Hagerstown, Maryland. It has since been reprinted in several anthologies and magazines.

Lori S. Mohr
is a freelance writer who dedicates her craft to enlightening humanity to the ways of responsible pet parenting. Her versatile and seasoned writing style lends itself to a variety of subject matter, including vegetarianism and celebrity profiles. She also publishes newsletters. You can reach Lori at [email protected], or by calling 1-888-4EZ-CAMP.

Kathleen M. Muldoon
is a freelance writer who lives in San Antonio, Texas. She is the author of
Princess Pooh
, a picture book, as well as many other children’s stories and articles. The original Ralph died in August of 1996, but she continues to babble to Prissy, a four-year-old black-and-white stray who came to stay last year.

Kathe Neyer
has been a Registered Nurse for the past thirty-two years and a longtime volunteer at the Arizona Humane Society. She has been involved with the Samaritan Health Systems in Phoenix and in dog therapy programs since 1993. She is firmly convinced that the power of an animal’s unconditional love can benefit the health, mind and spirit of those whose lives they touch.

Joy Nordquist
is a therapist and life coach who helps people discover and live their dreams. She and her husband share their home with three delightful “teachers”—two Labradors and a Himalayan cat. Contact Joy at P.O. Box 1320, Carlsbad, CA 92018-1320, 760-729-5307,
[email protected]
.

Dr. Francine (Penny) Patterson
is president and director of research of the Gorilla Foundation. She is conducting the longest ongoing interspecies communication project using sign language to communicate with two Western lowland gorillas, Koko and Michael. Reach her at: P.O. Box 620-640, Woodside, CA 94062, or by calling: 800-ME GO APE. E-mail: [email protected];
www.gorilla.org
.

Penny Porter
is a former teacher and school administrator. She is one of the most successful freelancers to ever hit
Reader’s Digest
. She has published in a wide range of national-circulation magazines, including
Arizona
magazine,
Catholic
Digest, Guideposts, Honda
and
Arizona Farmer and Rancher
. Penny is the author of
The Keymaker: Born to Steal
and
Howard’s Monster
as well as the biography,
Eugene
Gifford Grace
. She lives in Tucson, Arizona, with her husband and continues to write and provide reading and writing workshops for students and adults.

Susan Race,
whose family consists of four dogs and two cats, spends most of her free time helping unloved animals through a variety of organizations in the Pittsburgh area. Susan is currently trying to help start a new organization to rehabilitate injured, ill or orphaned wild songbirds. She can be reached at 205 Chan Mowr Dr., Valencia, PA 16059, or by calling 412-898-3275.