Helo vom Sieben Konige

On August 27, 1996, Dustin and I experienced a miracle in the form of a tiny newborn daughter.  Fifteen years later in 2011, we celebrated this perfect, wonderful day at the zoo (yes...she totally picked the zoo at fifteen!), dinner, toe shoe shopping and a movie.  Little did we know another miracle was taking place as we slept; this time in a form that was a little bit fuzzier.

Our little Helo (rhymes with "kilo") was born that night to mom Mason and dad Seven both from a kennel that we had been told was the absolute best shepherd kennel in the country for police and sport dogs by several unrelated sources.  I hadn't planned on getting a puppy so quickly (who is actually, truly ready for babies when they arrive?) but someone else obviously had other ideas and through several small and unexpected miracles, we were led to my new friend Susan and this litter of new shepherd babies.

Helo is a name Dustin picked out long ago for a special dog that he knew he'd have in his life sometime or another.  He tried to get me to name my Great Dane puppy "Helo" and I had refused knowing it was reserved for his puppy and my dane was decidedly MINE.  =)  Susan explained that "Sieben Konige" means "Seven Kings" which is a link to their daddy.

Through pictures and several long messages between Susan and I, I came to know this little girl and her personality but what struck me most was her keen eyes and rapt attention to her surroundings - perfect qualities for our foundation.  Her pedigree has some amazing dogs behind her and I am so very, very excited to see what she can do.  Within her is the ability to help us change both our family's future and the future of Police Service Dogs in Utah...a heavy burden for tiny paws but one that I know with all my soul she is ready for.
Now the countdown begins....cannot wait to welcome my...er...Dustin's new baby...yeah...

Studying Criminal Minds in preparation for her future role!

What's in a name?

Admit it.  There is a distinct awesomeness that IS Havoc K9.  I spent a lot of time thinking of the name and tag line for this organization because I believe brand recognition is extremely important to the success of any business.  Not only is Havoc a kickin' name and fun to market, it's also the name of my beloved Great Dane Odin's grandfather.  The tag line "Cry Havoc and Let Loose the Dogs of War" is an adaptation of a line in  Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and it spoke to me when doing some research with Grand Master Google.  I think of patrol dogs on our city streets as going to war each time they and their partners are on duty.  I can also imagine everyone screaming this as a war cry when the Zombie Apocalypse happens and we're overrun by the walking dead.

So what does all this rambling have to do with anything?  Our logo is complete!  *doing happy dance*

I've shared this story with the amazing graphic artist who created this awesome piece of work for us.  We discussed the logo as a muddy paw with a skull incorporated within it.  I knew he was an amazing artist and gave him a lot of creative freedom (i.e., I was lazy and had no clue what I wanted) and after a quick sketch of a few ideas, I chose one concept and turned him loose.  When it was given to us, I waited all day until my husband could open the e-mail with me to see it for the first time.  I knew I'd take one look at it and, with tears in my eyes declare:  "THIS is Havoc!!"

We opened the file and all stared at it.  Speechless.  We weren't in love.

I expected it, oh...more "skully"?  But it was fairly simple.  More paw then skull.  I cocked my  head from side to side like a German Shepherd hearing a high pitched squeal trying to determine what it was that I didn't like.  We did some quick, impromptu focus group viewings with several neighbors, family and friends.  Interestingly, we found that men between 20 and 40ish could clearly see the skull embedded within it.  Girls?  Not so much.  Do you think it's because of the gaming background of the men?  It was an interesting outcome, regardless.  Results?  Boys loved it and immediately connected with.  Since that is our biggest demographic of customers, I figured it could be great with just a few tweaks.

So we sat down and picked it apart trying to figure out what was wrong with it.  The more we looked and pulled it apart, the more we started falling in love with it.  The simplicity of the design, the perfect splatter patterns, the curve of the skull's jaw bone and the fact it was focused on the "dog" aspect of it more than the skull aspect was awesome.  I finally sent back an e-mail to the artist and gushed over how much we loved it.

It was my expectation of what I was anticipating that threw me off.  Once I shed those expectations and saw it for what it was, I completely understood what I was looking at.  I was able to fall in love with what it was...not what I thought it should be.  It was a good lesson that can be applied to more than just wicked cool company logos.  Let people be who they are and love them for it.  And for those of you trying to blend in... be the rockstar you know you are.  "To wish you were someone else is to waste the person you are."  - Ricki Draper*


*The quote is really from "unknown" but since no one is stepping up to claim it, I have dibs.  Why?  I'm a rockstar, baby.


Thanks, J.  <3

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life.  Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking.  Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice.  And, most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.  They somehow already know what you truly want to become.  Everything else is secondary."  -- Steve Jobs (Feb. 24, 1955 - October 5, 2011)


I drove home today in the rain, overwhelmed by my world.  There is so much ahead of me and I've been told by a half dozen people in the last week that what I'm doing is too much, too ambitious. Luckily for me, for each of those half dozen people, I have double that who do believe in me; how can you truly thank people for their wholehearted support?  But the nay-sayers words seem to echo voices in my head that say I can't and I'm not good enough and I wonder if I'm really doing the right thing.  I've also recently lost a decade old friendship that I valued beyond measure and it weighs heavily on me; the loss of support and encouragement is tangible.  


Like the rest of the world, I learned of Steve Jobs' passing via the vehicle he helped revolutionize and it saddened me to know one less visionary resided on this Earth when we so desperately need them.


He very much believed in the entrepreneurial spirit of the human being and believed deeply in following one's heart.  If he and his buddy could turn the entire world on its head, then certainly I can revolutionize this one little aspect of life in this one little corner of the world with the small army of supporters, right?  I may be overwhelmed by the task ahead of me but I am here.  I am whole.  I will pick up my head and move forward with the spirit of Mr. Jobs' ideals pushing me forward.


"Stay Hungry.  Stay Foolish."  Let's Rock.

Let Loose the Dogs of War

Deep breath.  Am I ready to turn my world upside down?  A slow smile creeps to my lips and I nod.  I am ready.  I am so ready for this.

My life's motto is: "If you don't like it, fix it."  No matter what situation we are in, we can change it and if you can't change it, embrace it.  Love and live like there's no tomorrow because one day that will be the case.  Is it easy?  Not on your life.  Is it worth it?  Absolutely.

I've never been satisfied with treading water; standing in one place.  I'm not college educated although I wish that for my children.  In a room full of people, I'll never be the smartest although I believe those around me are and with my team, I can achieve anything.  I have a great (although somewhat challenge-less) job working for the Federal Government where I am a project manager for IT projects (certified PMP, baby!).  I could go to work, sit behind my computer, come home at the end of 8 hours, collect retirement and cheap insurance and have money for family vacations and hobbies.  Why would I contemplate adding a job that requires round the clock care of dogs, self-employed insurance rates which are crazy high because of the predictably that my staff and I will require stitches from a stray canine tooth at some point, hoping that the business will make enough money to pay staff and put food on the table and kibble in the bowls and having to do *gulp* corporate tax forms?

My response? Because this is what I want to be when I grow up.

I want to make sure our men and women in Law Enforcement come home every night to their families.  Being a wife of an officer, I know from personal experience the heart wrenching feeling of watching your spouse walk out the door praying they will walk back through.  I believe with all my heart that deploying more Police Service Dogs in our community will make that happen because of the protection they offer to their handlers and their fellow officers.  The deterrent factor alone is enough to stop a lot of criminals and situations from escalating beyond control.  I don't have to remind anyone that the economy is rough.  In my humble (although awesome) opinion, there has never been enough money for law enforcement agencies to do what they need to do and the economic downturn only puts a further strain on agencies.  Couple that with increased crime directly related TO the economy and we have a perfect storm for our communities to buckle.  Placing dogs in agencies at a huge cost reduction with most of their training already completed gets more dogs on the streets faster than traditional methods.

It's time we step up as American citizens and make changes to protect our freedoms.  I'm not strong enough or brave enough to serve like our military, police, fire and emergency responders so I'll do the next best thing: support them by working hard and donating my blood and sweat.

Cry Havoc and let loose the dogs of war!  Let's do this thing!