My Name is Stacy Rawlings and I'm an Animal Junkie. There, I said it.

All my life, I have loved animals, large and small, friend or foe to us human counterparts. They fascinated me and I spent my childhood in Kansas observing their daily lives, their relationships with their own kind as well as their relationship to us. I was born into an animal loving family, we always had animals of every kind. I was somewhat of a shy child, feeling like an outsider in peer social circles, but somehow I always felt at ease and free to be myself in the company of animals.

No surprise that I grew up to work in the horse industry for years and finally taking a position with Animal Control. I am truly in my element. As a respected mentor of mine once said, "If you take a job you love, you'll never 'work' a day in your life."  My work days are filled with excitement, wonder, joy and saddness, but my days are rarely "work" to me. No day is the same as the one before it and I am sure, as many other ACO's will attest.... "the stories I could tell!"

When I saw the call to blog on the Patch, I wondered if folks would enjoy reading the ramblings of someone who literally lives and breathes animals 24/7, and equally enjoys writing about it.  The only way to know the answer to that, is to give it a go.  So here I am, attempting to reach out to other lovers of all things animal.

Through this blog I'd like to offer my readers interesting stories about my past experiences as an Animal Control Officer, my opinions and ideas on animal related issues, perhaps answer questions that reader might have burning their brains regarding pets and animals in general, and what goes on at my own farm, Whispering Pines, lovingly referred to as the "final destination" for several rescues that have found their way into my heart. I will add a new blog weekly, on Wednesday's if at all possible. If you like what you read, let me know. If you have ideas on subjects you would like me to talk about, please shoot me a comment or email and I'll do my best to acommodate you.

What I won't do is blog about current open cases, state names on any past cases, take complaints through this forum, or give legal advise regarding pet related issues. I intend on keeping my discourse light and always with kind regards to fellow citizens, whether we agree or not on topics I discuss.

So, who wants to make some new friends and talk animals?