I've always loved animals.

My mother will attest to that because she was the one finding me sitting outside on the front step with my coat draped around many-a-stray dogs in the dead of winter.

My childhood dog, Sandy, a beagle-collie mix and shelter rescue was my best friend, especially at dinner time when I had a plate full of food I didn't like. Sandy loved everything, even lettuce.

From injured birds to feral cats getting stuck in my dashboard, I had to help.

The most vivid memory was a used car I owned that had a hole in the back floorboard. I made the whole just a tad bigger (yes, cat-size bigger) and then furnished it with blankets and food bowls for the stray cat colony living outside my apartment unit. It wasn't easy leaving for work in the morning because I had to evict them all for the day. It was especially difficult watching them stare at me while I drove off in their house.

But after years of taking in strays and working with animal rescues, I was sure my destiny was to keep helping animals in some way. When I think back on all of the steps I walked, the path definitely led me to what I started about a year ago: Zen 4 Animals Jewelry.

At the urging of one of my cats, Fancy Face, (no, really, I heard her say it) I agreed it was a great idea to make beaded 'message' jewelry to convey a message of hope and compassion for animals.

Fancy Face was certainly my “Zen” Assistant. She loved sitting on the table watching me make bracelets and earrings amongst jars of beads and gemstones. She has since passed away but her memory has not.

I regularly set up at craft shows and would like to sell my jewelry in local pet stores and animal-related businesses. Educating people about spay/neuter and the unbelievable numbers of unwanted animals in shelters is so important. Most of the animals sitting in shelters today would make someone a wonderful companion, if only given the chance.

The director of the Humane Society of Louisiana contacted me after the Gulf oil spill about making Pelican Themed Jewelry to help raise money for animal rescue and coastal recovery. For every Pelican item purchased, I sent 50% directly to the shelter to help with their efforts.

Recently, I started a line of “Peace for Pits” bracelets to help pit bull rescues continue their important work of rescue and education of a very misunderstood breed. When ordering any item from my website, I send a percentage of every purchase to the animal rescue or no kill shelter that the purchaser names with their order. And what better way to remind people to keep animals in their thoughts than to wear it!

Messages include Dogs Rule, Cats Rule, I Luv My Dog (or cat), Peace for Pits, Pitty Me, Peace for Paws, Rescue Mom, and more. The materials I use are mostly glass beads, genuine gemstones ( I love Hematite), silver tone wires or metals. And of course, custom orders are welcome.

Please see my website with more 100 items and more coming. I also make earrings, necklaces and organic catnip pillow toys. If anyone works at a shelter or rescue, contact me and I'll send you a bag of catnip toys – it does help cats with boredom and offers much needed exercise for kitties in limited spaces.

And when I'm not making jewelry or catnip toys, I become an official dog walker and cat sitter in Warminster and surrounding areas!

Giving back feels good. I am grateful for all of the help I received along the way with strays and rescues and I love being able to help others do more for animals. I like keeping everything local - helping local rescues and animals that need homes right in our own back yards.

I am currently trying to raise funds to become a non-profit so that I can do more fund raising. I started, “The Fancy-Face Fund” in honor of my little Zen Assistant. The Fund will help anyone needing medical care for their companion animals. No animal should suffer because of unaffordable medical care. Costs can be overwhelming.

One of my favorite quotes from Edward Everett Hale, “ I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do...

Please visit my website: http://www.zen4animalsjewelry.com or contact me at zen4animalsjewelry@yahoo.com