About Us | Palm Beach Pet Lovers

Our Mission

Palm Beach Pet Lovers™ is a local resource for pet lovers and the animal welfare community. Our mission is to serve as a central source of information, services and education for Palm Beach County pet guardians and animal lovers, and to promote the humane treatment of animals. The only local website of its kind, Palm Beach Pet Lovers combines eye-catching design with professionally written editorial content in a format that is fun and easy to navigate.

We offer the best resources for keeping your animal companions healthy and happy, while highlighting local pet-related companies, news and events, adoptable pets, animal welfare news and more.

We are a grassroots effort that is deeply committed to making a positive difference for the animals of Palm Beach County by empowering our readers through informative, engaging and intelligent editorial as well as by providing trustworthy resources and active networking opportunities.

In addition to our online presence, we intend to be active in the pet community by participating in and hosting a variety of pet-friendly events and fundraisers throughout the year. We actively support animal rescue, adoption and spay/neuter efforts.

We look forward to becoming an integral part of the Palm Beach County community. Thank you for supporting our efforts!

Meet Our Team

	Martha Blumel Publisher Palm Beach Pet Lovers founder and publisher Martha Blumel has been a lifelong animal lover with a passion for animal welfare and rescue. In addition to being a local small business owner, she is also the mother of a teenager and three wonderful cats. In 2004-05 she and her daughter fostered several sets of kittens for Peggy Adams Rescue League. When she was no longer able to commit the time to fostering, she knew she had to continue doing something for homeless animals. It was then that the idea for a pet lovers' website came to mind. Due to her commitments as owner of Envision Graphic Design, Inc. she was unable to immediately make this dream come to fruition, but in the summer of 2009 she realized it was time to commit and the concept of Palm Beach Pet Lovers was born.

	Melanie Casey Editor Melanie Casey is an award-winning Army journalist who has worked as an assistant editor and editor for military command information newspapers. She has been a pet owner and lover her entire life. Her parents instilled a love of animals early on, and dogs and cats were always present in her childhood home. As an adult, Melanie continues to have a passion for all animals. Current fur babies include three Siamese cats, one Maine Coon cat, and one Dachshund dog, Heidi, in addition to a tank full of tropical fish and a small black mouse named Cutie Pie. Melanie's three children (ages 20, 17 and 5) carry on her love of animals, and the whole family lives by the credo, which hangs on a plaque in their home, "A house without a cat is not a home."

	Tracy Goodhue Marketing and Web Consultant Tracy is a long time animal lover and owner. When she is not in the middle of an advertising print crisis, she is spending her time with her two favorite men — Chris, her husband, and Wally, her cocker spaniel. Kitty, her —you guessed it—cat has also taken up residence with the Goodhue family, having adopted them about 10 years ago. Tracy is owner of gogreenpaperandprinting.com and poeticdecor.com and also currently works at BG, inc. as an advertising production/ traffic/ and web producer. In her spare time, Tracy helps Martha with Palm Beach Pet Lovers with all things web-based and has been invaluable through the building stages and beyond.

	Megan Blumel Administrative Assistant / Event Photographer Megan Blumel's passion for photography, computers and animal rescue has been invaluable to Palm Beach Pet Lovers. She became an animal lover at an early age. She currently has three cats, Hunter, Tiger and Gizmo; two salt water fish, Nemo and Bubbles; and one freshwater fish Pacific, as well as Mio the neighborhood cat, who visits often. Her compassion for rescue and injured animals has included cats, dogs, ducks and even wild birds and turtles.

	Carole Chapman, DVM Contributing Veterinarian, "Ask the Vet" Column Carole Chapman received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) from the University of Florida in 1986 after obtaining an undergraduate degree in Microbiology. For the next 10 years, she worked in the Palm Beach County area as a full-time veterinarian, and did relief work for many area doctors in Palm Beach, Martin, and Broward counties. In November 1996, she opened her private practice in Boynton Beach. She also maintains a house-call practice, which is a much- needed service in this area. "It is my belief that treatment does not stop with the diagnosis and a medical prescription," Dr. Chapman said. "I treat all of my patients as if they were my own pet. I feel that high quality care and TLC are very important aspects of practicing good medicine." Her goal is to inform loving pet owners of how to maintain a healthy pet that the whole family can enjoy. Dr. Chapman is a mother of two boys, ages 16 and 21. She is a highly vocal advocate for pet spaying and neutering. Every spring she sponsors an annual doggie wash fundraiser and donates money to non-profit organizations for abandoned, abused and neglected animals. Last year she raised $1,200 for STRAY NO MORE INC. — enough money to spay and neuter 60 dogs and cats!

	Pam D'Addio Contributing Writer Pam D'Addio is currently in her fifth year as the Volunteer and Media Coordinator at Tri County Humane Society in Boca Raton. A passionate animal advocate, Pam is knowledgeable on a variety of canine topics such as behavior, care, training, and rescue / sheltering issues. Pam and her dog, Kayla, a Tri County adoptee, visit nursing homes as a therapy team. Pam also speaks at local schools to educate children to become responsible pet companions. She lives in Delray Beach with her husband, two daughters and seven rescued pets.

	Michelle A. Rivera Contributing Writer Michelle A. Rivera is the author of several books on dogs including HOSPICE HOUNDS, Animals and healing at the borders of death; CANINES IN THE CLASSROOM, Raising humane children through interactions with animals (Lantern Books); DO DOGS HAVE BELLY BUTTONS? 100 questions and answers about dogs (Adams Media); ON DOGS & DYING (Purdue University Press); THE SIMPLE LITTLE VEGAN DOG and THE SIMPLE LITTLE VEGAN SLOW COOKER (Book Publishers.) She is also a blogger with PetaPrime.org, a journalist for the West Palm Beach Animal Rights Examiner, and published in the vegetarian essay book “Voices from the Garden.” Michelle lives in South Florida with her husband John, an attorney with the Public Defender’s office, and her “pack” of one dog and three cats. She is the mother of two and the grandmother of three.

	Claudine McCarthy Contributing Writer Claudine McCarthy is a freelance writer and editor based in Boynton Beach, Fla. As a professional journalist for more than two decades, she's had her work published in many national and regional publications, including Cat Fancy, Dog Fancy, Pet Product News, Veterinary Product News, South Florida Parenting, and the Sun-Sentinel. She is currently editor of the national monthly newsletter, Student Affairs Today, published by Jossey-Bass, an imprint of Wiley. She's also the proud owner of two cats, one dog and many fish.

	Danielle Perez Event Photographer Danielle has been taking pictures as a hobby since she was 14, having a major interest in animals and cars. She has spent years around just about all types of animals, volunteering at a Florida native wildlife hospital, owning and training horses, working with children giving horseback riding lessons, and working at the county animal shelter. She always has enjoyed walking around outside in her spare time and snapping pictures of pets and wildlife, capturing their expressions and personalities. Danielle is also a freelance photographer and owner of D. Perez Photography.