Bio

Hello, and thanks for visiting! My name is Melissa.

Animals have been my lifelong passion, and I was fortunate to grow up in an animal-loving family. We had dogs, cats, birds, fish, reptiles, and, eventually, horses. A large number of those were strays or rescues, because neither I nor my mother could bear to turn away an animal in need.

I always intended to become a veterinarian, but life had other plans for me. When I was 19, the little fidgets and quirky habits I’d had for several years suddenly escalated into a fairly severe case of Tourette’s Syndrome. Around the same time, my mother developed some major health issues, and I didn’t feel comfortable moving away and leaving her.

Instead, I attended a local university and studied Psychology, with a focus on animal behavior/learning. Near the end, though, I finally accepted that I just didn’t have the heart and brain of a scientist. I appreciated science. I understood science. I just didn’t enjoy DOING science.

What I did enjoy, other than animals, was writing. So I hastily converted my English minor to a second major, focusing on business writing and technical writing. And, thanks to a techie boyfriend (now husband of 21 years) who built me a PC, I also learned to code websites and use digital design tools.

That led directly to a career in business communications, which has been 99% perfect for me.

The missing 1%? It has nothing to do with animals.

So, after decades of forcing my friends to read or listen to my ramblings, I’ve finally decided to give myself an official outlet. 😉