In other words, she is an original. By using her voice to help others, Blake has become a top influencer. You will find her writings in essays, articles, blog posts, and social media messages that are all over the web. In addition to top internet outlets, and her byline includes appearing in major print magazines.

As a result of her hard work – and determination to help others – Melissa Blake is a fiery activist educating the world. In addition, Blake is now the author of a memoir: Beautiful People: My Thirteen Truths About Disability. The book’s release date is March 5, 2024. However, it is available for pre-order now.

Here is one of her brilliant tweets that went viral.

During the last round of trollgate, people said that I should be banned from posting photos of myself because I’m too ugly. So I’d just like to commemorate the occasion with these 3 selfies… ???? 

— Melissa Blake @melissablake

Years ago, Blake wrote to me after seeing my New York Times essay about teen rape. Her kind words gave me comfort and she shared parts of her life with me. Although our experiences weren’t the same, we bonded over surviving trauma and a shared mission to help others.

I have experienced Blake’s kindness firsthand. We met when Blake reached out to me after reading my essay Defriending My Rapist which was published in The New York Times.

Centennial Cats

Blake said yes to an interview for my recent assignment for Centennial Animals, a sub-division of Centennial Media. Inside Your Cat’s Mind is a popular magazine series. I did a deep dive into why cats are not officially-approved service animals. Despite the myth that cats aren’t trainable, of course, they are. Just ask a cat trainer!

Cat Trainer Melissa Millet

Dr. Melissa Millet, one of Hollywood’s go-to animal trainers, rescued five cats. She then trained them to star on the silver screen. As a result, her five cats are cast members in the remake of Stephen King’s “Pet Sematary.” These kitties knew nothing about acting until Millet trained them.

Her secret? Patience and kindness. The five furry critters went from non-actors to reaching the top of the crop as cat stars in a major motion picture. As a true-blue animal lover, Millet fights for the rights of animals. Her requirements include supervisors hired to be on set in order to ensure humane treatment. Trainer Millet will never have it any other way.

Back to Blake

Cat lovers like Blake don’t need a certificate to prove heroism in their felines. However, not every residence permits dogs on their premises. And, there are licensed service animals, for example, miniature-horses, that are turned away. Yet, landlords are often agreeable to four-legged feline family members. So, yeah, trained cats have not yet earned their rightful title: “Official Service Animals. Hopefully, that will change in the near future.

See Also: Interviews With Women Writers: Surviving & Writing

Wild About Harry

Blake’s first cat Harry came into her life at a crucial time. It was after her father’s suicide. Sisters Melissa and Joy, and their mother, grappling with grief. “Harry gave us so much love when we needed it most,” said Blake. “We gave Harry a home, thinking that we were saving him. But instead, Harry saved us.”

Blake was born with a rare genetic bone and muscular disorder called Freeman-Sheldon syndrome. After Harry lived a long, full life, the family met two more life-saving cats named Whitney and Stella. “They are precious creatures,” says Blake. “They always remind me to slow down. When I am anxious or depressed, just petting them for even a minute calms me. They have a soothing, loving presence. It is so peaceful.”

And, Blake says, “One of the things I’ve found most interesting, is that none of our cats have been afraid of my wheelchair. Whitney loves sitting in my seat and it reminds me how accepting cats are. Cats never fail to make me smile. They lift my mood.”

Ok folks, I’ll leave you with this #WednesdayBrag

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Anyone who meets me knows I’m obsessed with dogs. Especially my dog. You may not know that I grew up with a stray that my family took in. The only problem was my mother’s severe allergy to cats. Mom’s eyes swell up, and she breaks out in a sneezing fit. The solution was to make a cozy home for our kitty in the garage. She was happy with the trifecta: a loving family, privacy, and freedom.

Cat Named Telka

My oldest sister named the cat Telka after an Egyptian princess. I envisioned a royal family with dark hair and olive skin — in retrospect, they looked suspiciously like my family. The princess had long black hair, large brown eyes, and full lips like Cleopatra but with my sister’s face.

However, I recently googled ‘Telka Egyptian Princess,’ and it appears there was no Egyptian princess with that name. In fact, I can’t find any princess from any country named Telka. Oh well, that only makes the memories more magical.

Telka waited for me every day. She sat at the curb across the street from my elementary school. I have no idea how long she sat there, but she had an internal clock for meals, so she must’ve sensed when it was time to come get me. I’d cross the street and greet her with a scratch behind her ears. Her reaction was to elicit loud, long purrs. Then, as we began to walk, she would rub her body against my legs, which made her purr louder. She walked around my legs, weaving as if drawing the infinity symbol.
I knew she was saying, “I love you to infinity.

My childhood home was a block-and-a-half from school. Upon arriving at the front doorstep she’d purr again, then run off to chase birds. The only thing I wasn’t crazy about was her proclivity for bringing me “presents.” Her gifts were poor little dead birds left in front of the door. Not only was it sad, it was disgusting to clean them up.

“Such adorable serial killers cats are,” said my Facebook pal Dan Collins. “When we got our cat Muffin, the family was overcome by his overwhelming cuteness. He was a little lint ball of a gray kitten. Who knew he would mature into Catzilla? At his best, Muffin was a lovable curmudgeon. At worst, he was a vet’s nemesis and the inspiration for Stephen King’s “IT.” Muffin never brought us a bird, but he was quite a good mouser.”

I asked my 2D and 3D friends what makes their cats purr. Here are the funny responses:

Lara B. Sharp, freelance writer said, “My cat Oscar purrs as loud as an idling truck when he sees the only non cat food he will eat. It’s nacho cheese Doritos. Poor little Oscar. He can’t meow properly. He walks around the house saying , “Wow, wow, wow.” But he makes up for his inabilities with an over abundance of enthusiasm. I say, “Oscar!” and he says, “Wow!” like he’s stunned that I have the ability to talk so he makes me feel like a genius.”

Andrea Beitler, who works for the nonprofit USO (United Services Organizations) said, “My cat loves licking plastic bags at night while I’m trying to sleep. He also loves snuggling. His name is Stimpy and we have a Chihuahua named Ren. Stimpy thinks he is the Lord of the Laundry. He loves lying on laundry piles. He also enjoys chasing his tail and bopping Ren on his head. He’s content lying in gift wrap at the bottom of a box. I never see him anymore. I just hear crinkle, crinkle. I tried to get a photo of Stimpy and Ren together but as you can see Stimpy gave me a look that said, “I will not sit with that lowly plebeian — even if it is for a picture.”

Melinda Dalke, the artist of Laughing Paws Art Studio adopts rescue cats. She said, “Miso and Saki love playing fetch. Sedona enjoys watching birds, Mocha loves my lap and Rebel loves everything —especially food.”

Freelance writer Shelley Renee said, “My cat’s name is Sebastian. He is a funny cat. Whoever thought up the term ‘catnap’ to mean a quick little snooze obviously never had a cat. Sebastian naps for about 20 hours a day. The other activity that he’s fond of is eating. Other funny behaviors are that he loves to sit on the windowsill and watch the birds outside, and he loves to play with my elastic hairbands. He will roll around with them and chew them all up. Sebastian also likes to taunt visiting dogs. He has been known to beat them up and then steal their beds and toys.”

See also: Dog Pics Guaranteed to Cheer You Up

Real estate appraiser Neil Adams said, “Technically, Karma and Ollie are my roommates cats but it’s been two and a half years now so I know them well. Karma is a big fatty who loves her cat food and spends all day in her cat tree. The only time she seems interested in anything else is when I offer her catnip. She’ll still stay in the cat tree but when I give her the catnip she’ll bounce around a bit and then get down with her nip. Ollie is skinny and has to eat a special diet but he likes chicken or tuna when he can get it. He’s not as enthusiastic as big Karma but Ollie is much more cuddly and purry. He has zero interest in the catnip. If they had jobs Karma would be on unemployment and Ollie would be a thief.”

Freelance writer Linda Melone said, “My cat’s name is Sephora. She’s named after my favorite store. Sephora loves getting brushed and loves it so much she rolls around purring and drooling. It’s a riot. Cracks me up.”

Pet fashion designer Ada Nieves said, “Martini Beethoven loves boxes. Whenever he sees a box he jumps into it right away. Then he glares, communicating “Don’t you dare take this box away. It’s mine.”

Happy cat mom Jane Mitchell said, “Violet loves drinking straws and adores her cat climbing furniture thingy. Violet rules the house from her perch.”

The post September is Happy Cat Month appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

Bringing home a new pet is supposed to be a joyful event. You’ve been anticipating fun walks, games of catch, snuggling, purring and playing. But what if your new dog howls from separation anxiety? Or your cat scratches and pounces? What if your dog’s leash pulling nearly snaps your arm from its socket? Worse yet, what if your new dog or cat bites? Instead of locking yourself in a room crying, consult these 4 tips from pet owners and experts that offer up solutions:

1. Desensitize and counter condition. “To stop unwanted behaviors like leash pulling, aggression or separation anxiety, I use techniques called DSCC,” says San Francisco-based dog trainer Jeff Stalings. “Desensitization (DS) exposes the dog to low levels of the trigger then increases the level until the dog has become accustomed to the trigger. Counterconditioning (CC) teaches a dog to display a counter behavior to the unacceptable response to stimuli.”

The DSCC technique also worked for dog owner Niki Phaneuf from Indiana. “When I went to a local rescue looking for a job, I ended up adopting an extremely sad-looking dog instead,” she says. “He was a brindle Amstaff [American Staffordshire Terrier] mixed with a Presa Canario and had been there for months because no one wanted such an intimidating looking dog. It turned out he was wildly aggressive. I hooked up with a trainer who recommended DSCC training. Thankfully, that worked.”

2. Try the “Look At That” game. Author Leslie McDevitt’s book, “Control Unleashed,” teaches the “Look At That’” game. This positive training method teaches the dog to look at stimuli that they’ve reacted negatively towards. When the dog looks at the stimulus the owner uses a clicker. The click sound tells the dog to look away from the stimulus and back at the owner. The dog is then rewarded with a treat.

Dee Berkheimer McLaughlin, a retired RN, adopted a 15-month-old rescue English Springer Spaniel. “His foster mom said he was easy and calm but what I didn’t know was she’d never had him on a leash,” she says. “He had an extreme leash reaction and became a wild terror towards other dogs but after intensive DSCC plus the ‘Look At That’ game from Leslie McDevitt he can now walk nicely on a leash and lie down at the edge of a walking path and wait as other dogs pass by.”

3. Don’t misread behavior. “Some pet parents make assumptions about why their cat is misbehaving and create a solution,” says Tennessee cat behavior expert, Pam Johnson-Bennett, author of “Psycho Kitty: Tips for Solving Your Cat’s Crazy Behavior.” “The problem is when the behavior is misread, it makes the solution ineffective or counterproductive.”

In other words, a cat’s unwanted behavior is not because the kitty is “mad” or “getting even.” Pet owners have to observe their cat or dog’s bad behavior and try to identify the triggers of that behavior in order to come up with an effective solution. Animal behaviorists and trainers can often help pet parents identify these triggers and develop action plans for correcting the unwanted behaviors.

4. Trust in clicker training and use positive reinforcement. Kari Neumeyer, 38, from Washington State, adopted a 7-week-old German Shepherd puppy named Isis. But Isis proved to be a handful and showed early signs of fear and aggression. “We got all the books and did everything we thought we were supposed to,” says Neumeyer, whose challenging training experience inspired her to write the memoir “Bark and Lunge: Loving a Reactive Dog.” “She was very smart, but didn’t ‘get’ the obedience stuff.”

Multiple trainers recommended using training devices such as prong collars and shock collars, but Neumeyer believed they would make the German Shepherd even more aggressive. At the age of two, Isis bit a stranger. Instead of suing or reporting the incident, the bite victim referred Neumeyer to a positive reinforcement trainer. “With a clicker, a Halti Harness and force free training, I was able to finally alleviate her anxiety and train her,” she says.”

Corporate executive Cocoa Blohm from Illinois had a similar experience. She adopted a 10-month-old female Blue Heeler from a kill shelter after researching the breed for a year. “I expected scary smarts, lots of energy, and the classic herder behaviors,” she says. “What I got was a fearful, aggressive dog who bit three people and sent one to the ER.”

Blohm’s first trainer told her that the dog was out of control, strapped a prong collar on her, did a correction, and the dog attacked the trainer. In another incident, a different trainer put a choke chain on the dog and the animal was so terrified of him she began barking like crazy.

Answers finally came with a third trainer who taught Blohm how to read a dog’s body language and correct behaviors with clicker training. “This dog has never bitten another person,” she says. “[The trainer] taught me patience, compassion and that I had a ton to learn about dog training.”

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