Month: January 2015

For the Love of a Dog

On By Susan HolmesIn Home page1 Comment

Meet 14-year-old Brooke Martin. She’s creative, compassionate, and clever!  She invented a device to help alleviate her rescue dog’s separation anxiety and is now one of ten finalists for the Microsoft 2015 Small Business Contest. I’ve excerpted this post courtesy of A Mighty Girl’s Facebook page, and it’s worth sharing with people of all ages.

Brooke Martin
Brooke Martin with Kayla (photo © Barb Chase)

When she couldn’t find an easy way to remotely interact with her dog, Brooke decided to build a system of her own. After designing the prototype in her garage, Brooke enlisted a group of software pros, designers, and other specialists to help her create the finished product.  Last fall, she won the first-ever “Inventions We Love” challenge at the 2014 GeekWire Summit.

I really wanted a way to connect with her while we were gone and let her know that it was OK and calm her down during the day….I always video chat with my family and friends, so I figured why not my dog?

With iCPooch, you connect a tablet or smartphone to the dispenser, load it up with treats, and then contact the device from anywhere to video chat or give your dog a treat.

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To watch a demo of the product, check out the Press Room of Brooke’s website. To vote for Brooke and ICPooch in the Microsoft 2015 Small Business Contest, visit their Facebook voting page. There’s a $20,000 prize for the winner to invest in her business.

Read more about this Mighty Girl and her invention on her website. You can also find her iCPooch on Amazon.

So what are you waiting for? Go vote!

Celebrate Life!

On By Susan HolmesIn Home page2 Comments

I can’t think of a better way to start the year than with an update on Hiker, the dog who wouldn’t quit.

If you missed my earlier posts about Hiker, you can start here and read the update here. Short version: Jim Warnock and his hiking partner were traversing the rugged Ozark Highlands Trail back in January, 2014 when they were joined by an emaciated black lab who followed them to the end of the trail. (Read the entire story in Jim’s words here.) Here’s what she looked like back then:

Hiker January 20th 2014

A year later, Hiker is one healthy, happy dog who loves getting out on the trail in search of new adventures. Here’s her latest photo, courtesy of Jim:

Hiker 2

To keep up with the adventures of Hiker and her trail partner Jim, be sure to visit Jim’s blog at http://ozarkmountainhiker.com/.  Here’s hoping our paths cross soon on the Ozarks trails!