I was born in Indiana (that makes me a Hoosier),
spent nearly 20 years in Tennessee (that makes
me a Southern gal), and have been in Southern
California for almost 20 years. I retired 8
years ago, and have never been busier, as I have
really gone to the dogs. Briefly, my
professional background consists of over 30
years as a nephrology nurse, some of which were
spent teaching nursing students at Vanderbilt
University, coordinating a large nephrology
program at the Nashville VA, coordinating a
clinical research program at Vanderbilt
University, and the last 12 years were in the
corporate setting of a large biotech
company. These activities gave me exposure to
clinical research, opportunities to travel a bit
to give presentations, and to experience aspects
of writing, publishing, and marketing.
Such diverse experiences provided a good
foundation for my entry into life in the Alaskan
Klee Kai world, which I entered after my
retirement. It began with the acquisition of a
very shy little guy named Mac, who was
subsequently neutered because of a heart murmur
at 14 months of age. That murmur has now
disappeared, and my journey with the Alaskan
Klee Kai became more intense when I decided to
become active in AKKAOA. As a pet owner, I
drove from California to KY a couple of times to
assist with AKKAOA dog shows. Mac let me know
that he needed a buddy, so I flew to Shalimar
Acres to pick up a beautiful little girl that I
named Katrina Mali. Mali is now my Grand
Champion and the wonderful mother of some pretty
awesome pups. Mali gave me Ruby, who is now a
Champion, and who is an absolute delight and the
squealer that her father, Ninja, is; she keeps
Mac and Mali young at heart. I have since added
Shoni, my gorgeous, energetic little guy from
Naitok Kennels, who is into everything. All
four of these wonderful creatures have brought
me so much joy, taught me patience, and have
helped me to apply my health care background to
promoting the health and welfare of the Alaskan
Klee Kai breed. They are so bright and so much
fun, they keep my grey matter working to keep up
with or ahead of them.
AKKAOA has allowed me to utilize my experiences
and background in a myriad of ways, thru dog
shows, health surveys and initiatives, as well
as given me the opportunity to meet so many
different people across so many different
lifestyles. My first responsibility as Event
Chair for an AKKAOA activity was six years ago
in the form of Pet Expo. Because of the
phenomenal response of AKK owners in Southern
California, Pet Expo has become a venue for
educating the public about the Alaskan Klee Kai
that continues to this day. Pet Expo has always
been open to all AKK owners, regardless of
whether or not they had any dog club
affiliation. All AKK owners are encouraged to
bring their dogs to the event site and help
educate the public about this wonderful breed.
I initially began my AKKAOA Board career thru an
appointment as a Director to the Board of
Directors to fulfill a vacancy that had
occurred. That was followed later by an
election to that position, and then election to
the position of Vice-President. However, with
the sudden resignation of the President at the
start of her term two years ago, I found myself
at the helm of AKKAOA as President. This past
year has been a very difficult one for AKKAOA,
but we have some wonderful people who truly care
about the Alaskan Klee Kai, and all have worked
very hard together for the sake of the breed.
I believe it important to find and utilize
talented people to fill leadership roles within
AKKAOA. We have so many creative people in the
Alaskan Klee Kai world, that we would be remiss
if we did not take advantage of so much
diversity and strength. Very recently, we have
added an internationally recognized clinical
researcher to our arsenal as Chair of the Health
and Medical Research Committee. We can only
grow stronger as we continue to bring in
talented and gifted individuals whose
contributions to AKKAOA will increase our
abilities to enhance the Alaskan Klee Kai as a
breed.
I truly hope that I will have the opportunity to
meet each and every one of the AKK lovers out
there, and that we can all develop the trust and
respect for each other that will enable us to
work together in a united force for our dogs and
for the breed.
