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Wednesday, January 27, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Nugget columnist publishes first book
By Helen Schmidling
Correspondent
Jodi Schneider McNamee
has fond memories of her first
family dog — a black stan-
dard poodle named Suzie.
It was the late 1950s, and
Jodi was growing up in the
rural countryside of Upper
Saddle River, New Jersey.
She and Suzie rambled
through their backyard into
a forest of red oaks, maples
and dogwood. A path led to
a small pond where Suzie
helped Jodi forage for polly-
wogs and salamanders. Her
dog, the deep woods, and the
world all seemed vast to Jodi.
“I was one with nature and
that’s where my compassion
for animals began,” she says.
She still has that com-
passion, and a great curios-
ity about animals and their
people.
Since 2012, Jodi’s heart-
warming animal stories
and sensible pet advice col-
umns have entertained and
informed readers of The
Nugget. Now she’s gath-
ered them into a new book,
“Raising Rover: Positive Pet
Parenting Solutions for Your
Pooch.”
And while she’s written
mostly about pets and covered
other goings-on in Sisters for
The Nugget, the timing of this
book “is just serendipitous,”
she said. “Last fall, during
the Chamber of Commerce
Harvest Faire, I came across
the Sisters Authors’ booth.
I met Edie Jones and she
mentioned self-publishing,
and that was my inspiration”
for the book.
“It has everything to do
with this community,” she
said.
Topics ranging from who’s
smarter — dogs or cats — to
leashing (or not); dogs riding
in the back of pickup trucks
(a pet peeve); picking up dog
poop; and dealing with anx-
ious dogs and dogs that bark
incessantly have been col-
lected in a one-stop volume
that’s both resourceful and
entertaining.
“I want to help people
improve their life with their
pets,” she said.
From a very early age,
Jodi said, she wanted to work
with pets. When she moved
to Southern California around
1980, her first job was work-
ing in a veterinary clinic. In
those days, veterinary assis-
tants did not require certifi-
cation, and mostly trained
on the job. Jodi helped with
surgeries, including spays and
neuters. At another veterinary
clinic, she worked as a recep-
tionist before pursuing other
jobs that included teaching
art, directing recreational
activities for senior citizens,
and taking photographs. She
ultimately pursued certifi-
cation as a veterinary assis-
tant, and interned at LaPaw
Animal Hospital in Bend.
“Now I get the chance to
write and photograph animals
(for The Nugget) and I’m
doing what I really love!” she
exclaimed. “Dogs understand
us, and we need to take the
time and make the effort to
understand them.”
Nugget Editor Jim
Cornelius appreciates that.
He says, “Jodi has a passion
for animals, and for helping
people and animals have the
best relationship possible.
Her ‘Paw Prints’ column is
a well-loved feature of The
Nugget, because it helps folks
better serve their canine and
feline family members.”
In the introduction to her
book, Jodi writes: “Dogs are
such a part of my life that I
can’t imagine being without
them. I appreciate the animal
mind and learn something
new about the incredible
canine every day.”
She has three rescue dogs:
Oliver, Mia, and Autumn; two
rescue Siamese cats: Jasmine
and Tinkerbelle; and one
rabbit. Over the years, she’s
had countless other dogs and
cats, as well as chickens, liz-
ards, hamsters, gerbils, even
snakes.
“I’m a dog person – and a
cat person,” she says.
She’s also a loyal vol-
unteer with Furry Friends
Foundation. She does pet
photographs on commission,
and has other photographs
and watercolor paintings
available at Sisters Gallery &
Frame Shop.
Jodi’s first story for The
Nugget was about Marlene
Baldock’s alpacas.
“Jodi is just amazingly
talented, and has a gift with
animals,” Marlene said. “She
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about caring for cats, and she
has ideas for a longer volume
on the KISS Dogs rescued
several years ago from a farm
in Prineville, as well as two
children’s books.
“Raising Rover” is avail-
able at Paulina Springs Books
in Sisters, where Jodi will
do her first book reading on
February 6 at 6 p.m. She will
also sign books at PetSmart
in Bend on February 12-13,
from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., the
first-ever book signing for
that location. The book is
also available online through
Amazon, Barnes & Noble,
and the publisher, Author
House.
If you have suggestions
for pet-related features,
just drop Jodi an email at
trueanimaltales@yahoo.com.
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Her first canine feature
was about Dale Coats and
his golden retriever, Buddy,
trained by Dale as a therapy
dog. That was in November
2012. One story always leads
to the next, with ideas com-
ing from everywhere: people
on the street or in the cof-
fee shop, online, books, her
own pet peeves, and bits and
pieces. Remember her fea-
ture on Corduroy, the World’s
Oldest Cat? Jodi is working
on turning Corduroy’s story
into a book.
“I love it when people give
me ideas,” she says.
Not long ago, Jodi wrote
about Gayla Nelson’s heroic
22-pound mini poodle, Louie,
who faced down a coyote and
saved his canine sibling, Zoe,
a tiny Yorkshire terrier.
“I think Jodi’s just amaz-
ing,” Gayla said. “She does
so much extra research and
makes her stories interesting
and informative.”
Sadly, Louie went missing
over the Christmas holiday,
while he was being boarded
in Tumalo. While losing him
has left a huge hole in Gayla’s
heart, she is happily bonding
with a new rescue kitten.
Louie’s story is one of
many included in the final
section of the book, “True Pet
Tales to Warm the Heart.”
Eventually, Jodi intends
to compile a similar book all
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