[VoodooJoint]

I’m VoodooJoint, also called VJ. I'm 37, I think, I don't really bother keeping track anymore.

I was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago. Growing up I always had a great relationship with animals. While my parents and siblings weren’t "pet people" I managed to wrangle myself a few small animal pets and learned responsibility for them at an early age, as I was the only person in the home with any interest in them. I also had a constant stream of abandoned young and injured wildlife that I rehabbed while growing up and found that not only did I have a way with animals, they seemed to seek me out (even wild ones) when they needed help.

As I grew older I became disillusioned with my safe suburban life and did what every kid dreams of doing. I ran off and joined the circus.

Well, not the circus exactly but the Renaissance Faire circuit. For several years I traveled around the country and worked as a Gypsy Dancer at the Ren Faires with my trusty sidekick and best friend Tekla, my ferret.

Eventually my travels landed me in New Olreans and here I stayed.

I’m married with 2 children now and a household full of animals. My home is usually packed with an odd assortment of castoff, neglected, injured and abused animals that I rescue, rehab and rehome/re-release.

Currently I have 4 dogs, 3 cats, 4 guinea pigs, 1 rabbit, 2 box turtles, 1 red eared slider turtle, a snake and some fish. When I evacuated from Hurricane Katrina we had 4 humans and 16 animals in our minivan.

Living in New Orleans post Katrina has me busy. There are still so many animals in need of rescuing that I’m never bored. Simple errands often turn into exhausting chases as I try to catch the latest cat or dog I’ve spotted living in the ruins and leaving food at different animal food drops around the city.

If you want to know why I became a moderator you would have to ask Ly. She seemed to have been keeping her eye on me for a while and when the new live chat room opened she asked if I would help keep an eye on the activity there. Soon after I was invited to become a mod. If I had to venture a guess as to why I was asked to mod this forum I would have to say it is because of my unwavering views on animal care, responsibility and the animal overpopulation crisis and the fact that I "walk the talk".

The only thing I guess I have last to answer would be about my name. I’m sure many people wonder why I have the name VoodooJoint and what it means.

It’s simple actually. My husband and I used to own a music store in the French Quarter called Louie’s Juke Joint. In the back I had a small botanica, which started to be called "The Voodoo Joint". My store is closed now but I still have an online business by the same name.