Lisa Hurt is an assistant editor at the Connecticut Post in Bridgeport, Connecticut. After growing up in West Point, Kentucky, she graduated from Western Kentucky University and has since worked at newspapers and magazines in Kentucky, Florida, Hawaii, New York and Louisiana. She lives in a New England coastal town with her fiancé, Steve, and their four cats. She can be reached by e-mail at
[email protected] Pam Johnson-Bennett is a well-known feline behaviorist and author of several books, including Psycho Kitty (Crossing Press) and Twisted Whiskers (Crossing Press). Her newest book, Think Like A Cat (Penguin Books), will be available in January 2000. Pam frequently appears on national TV, on such networks as CNN and Fox News Channel.
Tim Jones is a former newspaper and magazine editor who left behind the confines of a more urban life in Anchorage, Alaska in 1980. He has been a boat captain on Prince William Sound and built homes in Baldez. He has written four other books and also has edited several books. His articles have appeared in numerous magazines.
Bil Keane created the Family Circus in 1960. It now appears in over fifteen hundred newspapers and is read by 100 million people daily. A new all-color hardcover book the Family Circus—By Request is available from Gayle Keane, 4093 Jefferson St., Napa, CA 94558.
John Keane has spent twenty-five years helping pet owners recover their lost and stolen pets. His California-based business Sherlock Bones, Inc. provides nationwide and local services to help lost-pet owners quickly and efficiently “get the word out in their surrounding neighborhood about their missing pet”—the key to finding lost or stolen pets. To enjoy more stories of lost and found pets, visit his Web site at www.sherlockbones.com If you have stories you want to share with him, he can be reached by calling 800-942-6637 or by e-mail at
[email protected] Jim Kerr is the director of the Colorado Boys Ranch Horsemanship Program. For the past twelve years, he has instructed and nurtured hundreds of boys as they learn about horses. Prior to CBR, Jim also worked with young people as a teacher and coach. Colorado Boys Ranch is a nonprofit, residential treatment facility for young people with severe emotional and behavioral problems. Their horsemanship program and other special program opportunities for young people are funded through the generosity of contributors. For further information, please write to P.O. Box 681, La Junta, CO 81050 or call 719-384-5981.
Joe Kirkup is the author of approximately sixty nonfiction essays published in various periodicals and paperbacks, including two in Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul. Life Sentences, an anthology, can be purchased through MudTurtle.com on the Internet, or by calling 860-572-0079 or sending an e-mail to
[email protected] Cynthia Knisely grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She moved to Arizona in 1978, where she was a reporter for the Arizona Republic until 1984. She brought Cassie with her from Arizona in 1989. Cassie’s health is declining rapidly now, but she is not suffering. Should it become necessary, her veterinarian, Dr. Weiss, will go to her house to put her to sleep. Cynthia is disabled and has fibromyalgia. She is the mother of a five-year-old and a special-needs six-year-old. Her husband’s fifteen-year-old daughter also lives with them.
Stephanie Laland, a well-known speaker on animal-related issues, is the author of Peaceful Kingdom: Random Acts of Kindness by Animals and 51 Ways to Entertain Your Housecat While You’re Out. A workshop leader for people wishing to increase their connection to animals, she and her husband and many animal friends live in Felton, California.
Page Lambert, author of In Search of Kinship and Shifting Stars, and contributor to Chicken Soup for the Woman’s Soul, is a Colorado native. She now lives on a small ranch in the Black Hills of Wyoming, where she loves to walk the deer paths with their new dog, Duke. A facilitator of unusual writing retreats, she can be reached by calling 307-283-2530 or by e-mail at
[email protected] Sharon Landeen, a retired elementary-school teacher, is the author and illustrator of two bilingual picture books, When You Get Really Mad and Really, Riley. She enjoys working with youth and was involved for twenty years with 4-H. She is a volunteer teacher in reading and art, but still finds the time for her writing as well as being “grandmother superior.” She can be reached at 6990 E. Calle Arandas, Tucson, AZ 85750 or by calling 520-886-1194.
Aletha Jane Lindstrom of Battle Creek, Michigan, died May 4, 1998. She was born in 1908. She graduated from Olivet College and Western Michigan University. She was employed as an elementary-school teacher and later as an elementary-school librarian in the Lakeview school district. After retiring, she taught writing classes in the adult-education program at Kellogg Community College. She also was a freelance writer, who was published in Reader’s Digest, Catholic Digest, Guideposts and many other publications. Aletha also published a children’s book, Sojourner Truth. She married Carl in 1943; he died February 5, 1998. She is survived by her son, Carl Timothy, a grandson and her brother.
Mike Lipstock’s stories have appeared in previous volumes of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. They have also appeared in well over a hundred magazines and nine anthologies. He recently received his second nomination for a Pushcart Prize and a nomination for a story to be presented on National Public Radio. He lives in Jericho, New York and can be reached by calling 516-681-0171.
Peter Mandel is a writer of books about animals for both children and adults, and currently pet columnist for the Providence Journal Bulletin. He lives in Providence with his wife, Kathy, and cat, Chuck. Mandel grew up in Manhattan and graduated from Middlebury College and Brown University. He has a book entitled The Official Cat I.Q. Test. His more recent books include The Cat Dictionary, The Official Dog I.Q. Test, and a picture book entitled Red Cat, White Cat, which was named an American Bookseller “Pick of the Lists” and a Kirkus Reviews “Best of the Issue.” He likes baseball, ocean liners, Chinese food and walking around in the city of Paris.
Terry Perret Martin is a freelance writer and a single mother of three-year-old Sophia. She runs her publicity/business-writing company from home with her cat on her lap and her two dogs sleeping under the desk! She and her father, an Emmy Award-winning comedy writer, have created the Professional Comedy Writing Correspondence Course. Terry can be reached at P.O. Box 1739, Agoura Hills, CA 91376-1739, by calling 818-707-0155, by fax at 818-707-0137 or by e-mail at
[email protected] Susan McCullough specializes in writing about pets and parenting topics. Her work has appeared in the Washington Post, PetLife and Pets: Part of the Family. She also has written for Family Circle and Modern Maturity, and has contributed to several pet-care books. She and her family live in Vienna, Virginia.
Cindy Midgette lives in eastern North Carolina with her husband, Buddy, and children, Brent and Allie. Cindy is an avid animal lover. She supports Airedale rescue. Cindy can be reached at http://www.airedale.org.
Larry Monk passed away November 15, 1998. He was married for twenty-five years. The last position he held was a realty specialist with 70th Regional Support Command. He spent ten years with the civil service.
Holly Manon Moore is grateful to be a full-time mom-and-wife-at-home in Fairfield, Iowa. She has a B.F.A. in art and an M.A. in education administration which happily qualifies her for her activities as artist, writer, organic gardener, tree and animal lover. She has been a teacher for the Transcendental Meditation program for over twenty-five years.
Kate Murphy is a writer and long-time cancer survivor. Her first bout with colon cancer was in 1983. Since 1993, she has been treated for colon, breast and ovarian cancer as well. She lives by a lake in upstate New York with her husband, three cats, and her golden retriever—and has no sign of cancer today. She is a founding member of the Colon Cancer Alliance.
Michael A. Obenski, V.M.D., is a 1972 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. He is the owner and chief veterinarian of the Allentown Clinic for Cats, which he founded in 1978. Located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, the clinic is a veterinary hospital devoted exclusively to feline med
icine and surgery. Doctor Obenski has been awarded the Alumni Award of Merit from the University of Pennsylvania for his contributions to veterinary literature. To date, he has written over two hundred magazine articles and has served for more than twenty years as a contributing author to D.V.M. Newsmagazine. He and his wife, Martina, reside in Zionsville, Pennsylvania, with cats, Spiffy and Rocket, and dogs, Brindle and Howdy. They have three grown children, Chad, Rachel, and Bryson.
Sheldon Oberman is a writer, a storyteller of traditional Jewish tales and a high-school teacher. He is married, with three children and one young cat. His Web site, www.mbnet.mb.ca/~soberman, has many stories and creative guides. He can be reached at 822 Dorchester Ave., Winnipeg, Manitoba R3M 0R7.
Evelyn Olson has spent most of her eighty-seven years in, or near, Ogilvie, which is a small town in central Minnesota. She attended and graduated from the Ogilvie School, and St. Cloud University. For thirty-five years, she taught in nearby rural schools; then, for the next ten years, she taught handicapped children in the Ogilvie School. On retiring, she was honored and presented with an award by the Minnesota Board of Education for her forty-seven years of teaching service. She had many pets in her life, but Brownie was her favorite. This was probably due to his long life, and his devotion to her and her entire family.
Lori Jo Oswald, Ph.D., lives in Alaska with her three dogs, three cats and two horses—all rescues. She writes and edits Alaska Pet News (subscriptions $18 a year), which focuses on animal issues, pet care, reducing pet overpopulation and rescuing homeless animals. Lori Jo can be reached at Alaska Pet News, P.O. Box 4083, Palmer, AK 99645 or by e-mail at
[email protected] Jan Paddock and her husband, Brad, began their life together three years ago with the help of a happy golden retriever puppy named Cognac. At that time, the rest of the “Janimal” house included two rescued cats: an eighteen-year-old Siamese and a sixteen-year-old tabby. Brad brought to the family a blue-and-gold macaw named Calypso. In the last year, both cats have passed over the Rainbow Bridge. The family has recently grown to include a new golden retriever puppy named Zany.
Lynn Pulliam lives just south of Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband, two sons, four dogs and two cats. In addition to writing, she enjoys drawing, painting and gardening. She can be reached at
[email protected] Nancy Roberts’s first book, North Carolina Ghosts and Legends, was published at the suggestion of Carl Sandburg. His praise launched twenty-five books and began her career writing true ghost stories based on interviews. Southern Living magazine calls Nancy “Custodian of the Twilight Zone.” Among her twelve books of supernatural stories are Animal Ghost Stories, Civil War Ghosts and Legends, Georgia Ghosts, South Carolina Ghosts and America’s Most Haunted Places. She is also an authority on pirates and is the author of Blackbeard and Other Pirates of the Atlantic Coast and Blackbeard’s Cat. Roberts’s books are available from Amazon or by calling 800-337-9420. A gifted storyteller and speaker, she can be reached by visiting her Web site at www.nrobertsbooks.com or by fax at 704-365-5309.
K. Salome-Garver is an aspiring writer who is studying for her B.A. in social work. She currently makes her living as a bartender, which is a good job if you don’t drink, and a great job if you do—only one pays better. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her dog, Satchel Paige, and her two cats, Izzy and Slick. They are her children, and she loves them, even when they are bad. Kellie can be reached at
[email protected] Allen M. Schoen, D.V.M., is coauthor of Love, Miracles and Animal Healing and editor of three textbooks on complementary and alternative veterinary medicine. He is a world-renowned lecturer and pioneer in this field and continues to maintain a referral practice in large- and small-animal alternative and complementary medicine in New York and Connecticut. He is the founder and director of the Center for Integrative Animal Health, a division of Global Communications for Conservation, Inc., and a recipient of numerous grants to develop complementary animal health care.
Maria Sears is enjoying an active retirement. She’s a busy wife, mother and grandmother who enjoys traveling, volunteer work, music, books and many crafts. In her spare time, she’s writing her life stories. This story is part of the unforgettable experience of a city girl becoming a rancher’s wife. She can be reached by e-mail at
[email protected] Jacqueline Shuchat-Marx is cantor of Congregation Albert in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she creates and implements classes and programs in religious school and adult education. She was invested at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Her compositions have been performed in several synagogues. She cocreated a musical and dramatic presentation for two youth choirs at a citywide birthday commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and lends her voice to CD releases by Cantor Benjie-Ellen Schiller and Rabbi Joe Black.
Shari Smyth is a religious-education teacher and storyteller. She is a contributing editor of Guideposts magazine and writes regularly for the devotional book, Daily Guideposts. She has also been published in Reader’s Digest, Yankee magazine, Happiness magazine and numerous Christian publications such as the Lookout and WITH. Shari and her husband, Whitney, have four grown children. The nest, however, is lively and full with three dogs, three cats and cats’ friends who hang out on the front porch. She can be reached at 557 Mt. Pleasant Rd., Kingston Springs, TN 37082.
Ron St. James, L.C.S. W., A.C.S. W., was educated in New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut. He is married, the father of two wonderful daughters and is a clinical social work supervisor in Maine. Since 1973, he has been owned by a succession of droops of basset hounds. He can be reached by e-mail at
[email protected] Renée Sunday lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, with her husband of twenty-four years and their two children (Timothy, eighteen and Kimberly, five). She is a mortgage loan originator for First American National Bank. Dolly is now twelve years old and getting on in age for a cockatiel. She loves to have her head scratched and she can still let out that wolf whistle!
Joan Sutula writes poetry, essays and fiction. Her work has appeared in Lyrical Iowa, Capper, and numerous anthologies, and she has taken first-place awards in state and national poetry societies. She and her husband, Joe, have four children, eight grandchildren, and enjoy riding the beautiful bicycle trails of Iowa. She can be reached at 319-266-6450 or by e-mail at
[email protected] W. Bradford Swift, D.V.M., retired from veterinary medicine years ago to pursue his dream of being a writer, speaker and personal coach. He founded and now directs Life On Purpose Institute, a resource and learning center on the World Wide Web for people interested in living meaningful and satisfying lives. He is the author of The Human Being Service Manual (available through his Web site) and Coaching To Win: Building Your Business by Building Your Team. He lives with his wife, daughter, two cats, a dog and a school of fish in Flat Rock, North Carolina. He can be reached at 828-697-9239 or by e-mail at
[email protected] Visit his Web site: http://www.lifeonpurpose.com (The subject of his story, Chitra Besbroda, is in dire need of assistance to keep her humane work alive. For more information, contact: Chitra at Sentient Creatures, Inc., P.O. Box 765, Cathedral Station, New York, NY 10025, or call 212-865-5998.
Patti Thompson and her husband, Stephen, are coauthors of CAT HYMNS, a book and CD written from a cat’s point of view. The Thompsons enjoy traveling to promote their book. Patti has also written a stage play based on CAT HYMNS. She is the owner of Way-Fil Jewelry and can be reached at P.O. Box 361, Tupelo, MS 38802 or by e-mail at
[email protected] Visit her Web site at www.cathymns.com.
Christine Townend is a writer who has had poetry, short stories and five books published. She founded Animal Liberation in 1976 in Australia, and campaigned for animal protection until she became managing trustee of the Help in Suffering Sanctuary Jaipur, Rajasthan, in 1990. In 1992, her husband resigned from his law partnership and moved to India with her where they work together as volunteers.
Irving Townsend, (1920-1981), was a producer for Columbia Records until 1971. His
first book, the Less Expensive Spread: Delights and Dilemmas of a Weekend Cowboy, was published in 1971. Mr. Townsend’s essays about living with animals were collected and published in 1986 in Separate Lifetimes. Both titles are available from J.N. Townsend Publishing, which was begun by Townsend’s daughter, Jeremy, in 1986. A free catalogue is available by calling 800-333-9883 or writing to J.N. Townsend Publishing, 12 Greenleaf Dr., Exeter, NH 03833.
Deborah Turner is the owner of Doggie in the Window, a pet-grooming salon with retail and in-store veterinary clinic in Long Beach, California. She speaks professionally and teaches seminars for the pet industry. She is very involved in pet rescue and works through her store to better the lot for homeless and abused pets. She has coauthored with her friend, Diana Mohler, a children’s book entitled How Willy Got His Wheels,which describes the plight of one of her rescues and won the 1998 Maxwell Award in Children’s Literature. She and the little Chihuahua have appeared on television and have been featured in newspapers and magazines. Deborah and Willy can be reached at 4106 East Anaheim St., Long Beach, CA 90804-4269, by calling 562-494-7085 or by fax at 562-494-7606.
Joan M. Walker was lucky to combine avocation and vocation in the areas of animal welfare and domestic violence intervention, having served her community both as director of a local animal shelter, and as a crisis counselor for the woman’s shelter. She has a B.S. in business administration, and shares a home with her partner, five cats, a dog and three chickens. Based on their experiences at the animal shelter, Joan and her partner are developing a series of humane education stories. Joan can be reached by e-mail at
[email protected] Susan White is primarily engaged in philanthropic and educational pursuits and artistic endeavors. She is forty-something and is wife to Daniel and best friend to Buddhi, their newest pup Bhakti and Face, the feline. She learns everyday from them and cherishes the wonderful ways that animals model living life to its fullest, loving unconditionally, embracing the passion within and being totally in the present moment.