Help Grow a Doggy Supporter Forward

Hello, and I hope this message finds you well and warm!

I am writing today to ask your help for the dire state I am in due to a prolonged medical emergency. This is temporary as I should start receiving Social Security in April, maybe May (they tell me there can be a lag time). And, yes, you better believe I'm starting when I turn 62 (end of March).

I wish these were better circumstances as I'd hoped to reach out down the road - actually, I'd hoped to do this last Summer! - to let you know my "dog next," a special project I've been percolating on for several years now. (See below for the origin story & mini "pitch.")

What many of you may know is that I needed to end my 23-year-old dog care business on March 31, 2023 due to injuries. What you may not know is that I was actually assaulted (by a woman whose pit bull had previously bitten me). The injuries sustained doubled up on those received when a texter caused the 2014 auto accident that took me 2 years of therapy in order to NOT walk sideways.

I spent most of 2023-2024 trying to heal from the assault and the diagnosed cPTSD. (The assault came after a string of family losses, a lawsuit - from a cyclist who sued me though he was at fault and who had also frivolously sued 5 other parties before me -and a pandemic spent next to drilling that started on March 23, 2020 in a gradually collapsing building (finally condemned by the city in the Summer of 2021). Honestly, it was a string of bad luck and an inability to just get ahead of the curve in the increasingly unaffordable city I'd called home for 37 years.

The good news is that I love where I am now: I live in a tiny shipping container home on acreage outside of Bellingham where my rent is low - aside from the wood burning bill right now, bring back the Pineapple Express please! Part of my rent includes helping the owner set this property up with trails and native species for a planned Hip Camp. And I am getting plugged into the wider gardening community while I study for the WSU Master Gardener program.

The bad news is that I tried to work at a dog daycare but was injured again and I had to quit. Since then I haven't been able to find a job, partly because age discrimination and mostly because everyone wants to live in Bellingham! There are places that keep saying next month and I am hopeful a dogged search will pay off soon. In the meanwhile, I went through the last of my emergency funds and need funds to cover rent, car, insurance and basic expenses (phone, the wood bill! the new water heater since the last one burst).

I truly hate to reach out like this. I am hoping, however, that you will appreciate how extreme my need is and also that you hold some affection for me from the time we knew each other. I can honestly tell you that your fur baby and pals meant the world to me over those last years - as charges and clients, but as loved friends, companions and cohorts. I miss being with them ALL.

For this reason - and because I am hoping you also will see that I hope to be of more value to the dog community yet - I am asking for any contribution you could make toward getting me over this crisis and on to my 'next.' My next includes a 'gardening next' - tbd (for those who'd want to know) - and a 'dog next.'

Dog Next: I doubt my physical state will allow me to do little but pet sit on occasion, but I love dogs. I'm just really one big dog, I suppose! And I've wanted to help them AND their people on a broader scale.

As you may know, I volunteered as the steward for Magnuson Dog Park for 2 years and can count successes such as starting a tree and native planting program. I also designed the new entry gates and asked for the revamped main water station. Sadly, many other improvements became mired in politics. And, I am left believing SPR needs a drastic change.

But even before becoming a steward, I knew that there is a lack of standards for the dog world, and that this is very problematic for local governments when trying to address dog parks or city-based canine matters. Having personally witnessed the same problems - in and out of the dog park - over and over again, I looked for a solution. I also wanted to utilize my own creativity and skill sets developed over 40 years of work experience. As a dog handler, former risk manage & licensed property insurance broker, and way before that an advertising professional (in charge of various promotions as well as hiring creative staff), I know how to do this.

And there is the need for it! I conducted additional research traveling up and down the West Coast (Oct 2023 - January 2024) visiting dog parks, reviewing various management & maintenance programs for them, and asking visitors what they need and want! As a result, I think I have a sellable product, one I hope will help cut through some red tape while also giving the public what it deserves: no nonsense truths + FUN!

It's a Dog Park World

It's a Dog Park World will be a traveling exhibit providing foundational 'edutainment' about canines and their place in what really is a dog park world. The exhibits will be adult and kid-friendly, interactive, and fun! while also serving as possible licensing and/or stewardship hubs for municipalities. The exhibit(s) will be easily transportable with the ideal format being a 24-30' tiny home on wheels. Topics would include - and this is very much in development - but are VERY much not limited to:

If you're thinking mini Pacific Science Center meets tiny homes meets dog world, you've got it! The selling point for municipalities is that these vehicles can be used to both get across their specific messages but also serve as mobile steward and licensing units since they can be moved to different park locations. (The format could also be used, with tweaking, at national or state recreation trailheads.)

*I will be seeking corporate sponsorship and/or grants but also want to steer clear from any specific allegiances as there are definitely companies I would not want to promote.