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Social Media Marketing: The Importance of Being Earnest

January 25, 2012 by Tina Roper

As a Social Media Marketing consultant, one of the most frequent questions I get asked by potential clients is “How can I grow the amount of fans and followers I have?” Here’s what I tell them:

My best advice is for business leaders to realize that when it comes to social media, traditional marketing objectives do not necessarily apply. For example, rate of response on social media messages cannot be expected to be the same as a direct mail campaign. In traditional marketing, a response rate that is considered successful falls somewhere between a 1-2%. The good news is that your response rate may actually be greater with social media marketing. Craft your social media message correctly, and your reach can far exceed conventional expectations. Think double or triple, especially if you know some tricks of the trade (and that’s where hiring an experienced Social Media Marketer can make all the difference).

However, if you don’t apply the right focus to your social media efforts, your rate of return will take a big ‘ole flop. The goal with social media should not solely be “How many followers can I gain?” or “How quickly can I increase my fan base?” Campaign measurements tied to time could be fruitless, because in the online world, attention spans are extremely short and trending topics change quickly. Likewise, monitoring success by numbers of fans can be just as trivial because not every fan you reach will instantly convert into a quality business lead. They can, but they don’t always. So business folks need to adjust their expectations. It’s not all about the numbers of fans or followers you have. It’s about how engaged they are. If they aren’t engaged, your followers will quickly unfollow, and you can count on those fan numbers to start plummeting. That point on the balance where posts go from being just words to the moment where they become soaring, meaningful communications is the sweet spot: when your marketing evolves into brand management. And brand management is what all solid social media goals should be centered around.

So how do you create messaging that keeps your users engaged AND simultaneously fortifies your brand? Here’s where I get all Oprah on you: be your authentic self. The most successful online marketing campaigns are those that carry the voice of their business owners and leaders. They are the messages that communicate the core values of your business, thereby strengthening relationships with your customers. Construct your social media feeds so that they match the image that you want to create for your brand. I purposefully use the word “construct” here, because you need to put thought and energy to the impression you are building. If you don’t have the time or the initiative to build that plan yourself, it may make sense for you to call in the professionals.

When deciding how much of your resources to commit to social media, consider the value of developing relationships with your customers. Don’t set out thinking “I have all these followers, when will buy from me?” That’s a relationship that takes. Instead think, “I have all these followers, what can I provide that is of value to them?” Really hone in on what it is that you are trying to give, not take. And once you figure that out, choose a talking style (notice I didn’t say a “writing style”) that is markedly unique. Customers want you to walk-the-walk and talk-the-talk. Whether you’re a small business that is trying to grow or a large corporation focused on retention, my best advice is to be your brand. Don’t just be a reporter relaying the news. Keep that news interesting, relevant and – most of all – sincere.

I caution you here because you also cannot ONLY be what your customers want. In the one-way world of typed communication, that conveys as phony. You have to speak to your social media feed as if you were speaking with your customer in person, right to their faces. Think about what you would say to them. Show them with your words how you would move them from product presentation to product ownership. It’s a sales technique, yes, but it won’t be successful unless you are truthful and genuine about what you have to offer. For many businesses, what you have to offer above your competition is personal attention. So give freely of that one-on-one attention via your social messaging. Be driven by what drives you. What do you love about your product? What makes you different? Say it earnestly and people will respond. Your social media spectators will turn into customers. If you’re going to use online marketing as a tool, this is how you generate true organic growth.

Tina Roper is a Social Media and Communications Consultant, and curator of a Handmade and Vintage shop on etsy. Follow her on Twitter @ItsTrulyTina.

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Super Recipe! Potato Broccoli Cheese Soup

January 15, 2012 by Tina Roper

If you’ve been following me on Facebook or Twitter, you’ve seen the posts about how MAD I am about my new pressure cooker. Crazy mad. And crazy good. It took me months to find one that was TrulyTina. It needed to have a stainless steel interior (I don’t trust non-stick at super high temps). But most of all it needed to be easy to use.

I finally settled on the 6-quart Fagor “old-style” stove top cooker, and I knew I was on to something when I saw it on a recent episode of Top Chef Texas. I was doubly happy when I realized that purchasing it qualified me for a free mail-in recipe guide. ‘Cause if it’s free, it’s for me!

So off I went on my trial-and-error pressure cooking adventure, using the timing guidelines from the manual that came with the pot, and ideas from a recipe book I got for Christmas. I’ve had to modify a lot of the recipes from the book to keep them to whole foods instead of pre-made, packaged or processed foods. After cooking with it several times a week for the last month or so, I think I’ve finally hit the ball out of park last night when – on a whim – I made this potato and broccoli cheese soup recipe.

OK to be fair, I did cheat a little and used one pre-made ingredient from a can. I mean you could get REALLY technical here and say lots of the ingredients are not whole because I used frozen organic broccoli instead of fresh, store-bought stock, butter and cheese, and minced garlic from the jar. But all-in-all, this recipe is gonna be better for you than that off the shelf can of Campbell’s Chunky Potato Soup.

A little disclaimer before we start, I’m the kind of cook that never measures ingredients, so you may have to change the spice amounts to fit your tastes. Also, if you don’t have a pressure cooker, with a little modification you could easily turn this recipe into one that you can do stove top in a stock pot. So, here we go!

POTATO BROCCOLI CHEESE SOUP

2-3 large baking potatoes, diced with skins on

1-1/2 c frozen broccoli florets

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 cup organic vegetable broth

2/3 cup water

1/2 can low sodium cream of chicken soup

2 tbs olive oil

2 tbs butter

1 tbs salt

2 tsp minced garlic

2 tsp paprika

2 tsp black pepper

1 tbs parsley

Tabasco, to taste

Optional garnishes: crispy crumbled bacon, sour cream, chives

  • In the pressure cooker, saute garlic in the olive oil and butter.
  • Add all other ingredients except cheese and stir well.
  • Set the pressure cooker on highest setting, per you cooker’s directions. Cook for 6-8 minutes.
  • Release pressure and safely remove lid. Check that the potatoes are soft.
  • Add cheese and stir until melted. (Stirring will also break down the broccoli. Your kids will never know it’s in there!)
  • Serve in a soup bowl or crock. Garnish as desired.

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Miami-minded Marketing

January 8, 2012 by Tina Roper

Each year, a color of the year is announced by global color authority Pantone. It projects the haute-est hue, setting the tone for fashion and design. Smart marketers will infuse this color in all they do in 2012. Believe me, I intend to use it in designs for my clients’ websites and print media, like a consultation concept I’m working on for The Green Phenix.

Last year’s color was the lively and vibrant HONEYSUCKLE. You saw it all over the red carpet, and particularly in women’s dresses and shoes, and in men’s neckties. It popped in to upholstery fabric and home design, usually as an accent color:

2011 Pantone Color of the year: Honeysuckle

It’s no surprise that the 2012 Pantone chip follows the 2011 trend of spicy and saturated. This year’s color is TANGERINE TANGO. Expect to see it again in home design and fashion fabrics.

2012 Pantone Color of the Year: Tangerine Tango

Like all things forward and trendy, by the time a hot new hue is proclaimed, it already on its way out the door. So be on the look out for new favorite colors popping up sometime after March. Wanna know TrulyTina‘s prediction for what’s next? Deep, saturated blues reminiscent of Kate Middleton’s engagement announcement dress – yes indeed, ROYAL blue. What are your predictions? Comment below, and share your thoughts.

Tina Roper is a Social Media and Communications Consultant, and curator of a Handmade and Vintage shop on etsy. Follow her on Twitter @ItsTrulyTina.

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My Strange Addiction

November 20, 2011 by Tina Roper

Obsessions. Sometimes they come and go as quickly as the wind. But sometimes, they linger, nagging at you, begging your indulgence. I hereby confess I am currently engrossed in a strange addiction. Ready? It’s BIRDS.

Yellow Crowned Night Heron

OK so to be fair, this addiction started years ago. I was raised in Florida, and rightly influenced by my Dad and my Grandma who had an exceptional appreciation for birds. My Dad would wake up before dawn every morning, and go down to our boat dock and hand feed Yellow-crested and Black-crowned night herons. When I was in my early 20s my dad was briefly ill, and while he was recovering, I ran our family’s deep sea fishing business. Along with the responsibility of manning the ticketing booth, greeting tourists, and shucking ice for the fish box, I was also tasked with the pre-dawn feeding of the night herons. I was hooked. And enchanted.

As with any addiction, once you have a taste, it starts to infiltrate your life, whether you want it to or not. Suddenly I started spotting those red-eyed night herons EVERYWHERE. Perched on bridges, wading on the shore and in magazines all over the place. It’s a strange phenomenon, but one that lets me know I’m on the right path to some kind of higher message (or obsession).

Cuban Sandhill Crane

Fast forward to 2004. I was lucky enough to join an environmental expedition to Isla de Juventud, Cuba to do research on Sandhill Cranes. Once again, cranes started popping up everywhere. I would see them migrating over my house in Illinois when I had never noticed them before, I spotted them in a poster in Starbucks of all places, and in all the art I perused, there was a crane, but not just any crane: the Sandhill Crane, with its long silvery feathers, golden orange eye and gleaming crimson head. There I was again, carried off by the whimsy of symbolism.

And let’s indulge in that symbolism for a moment. Because this bird pattern kept reappearing for me, I started to look into its potential meaning. I began to learn that birds were not only something pretty in nature to look at, to be studied and appreciated, but they also represented a connection between the heavens and the earth. In their effortless flight through the sky, they are thought to carry ancestral messages to us on their wings. Is it any wonder that we associate the stork with the magic of newly birthed babies? (A baby, a gift from heaven, brought into our earthly world by a bird…) As for repeat sightings, many spiritualities believe that guardian angels appear as a different form time and time again until their message is received. Over and over. Until the addiction ends.

Having seemingly exhausted my heron-crane-type bird fascination (I must have already received their intended messages), I am happy to report a different type of bird on which my strange addiction has been set. I suspect that many of you will join me in my new found love: owls. Just like the herons and cranes before, owls are having both realistic and stylistic manifestations for me. I am hearing owls in my yard all the time AND I am seeing owl objects everywhere I look. Although we are all bombarded by the commercialism of owls in stores right now, I am mostly obsessed with handcrafted owls.

Me, Grandma and the Owl

While stocking my online shop on Etsy (TrulyTina.etsy.com), I get lost in browsing the owl creations of other Etsy artisans. I’m most strongly attracted to small felt owls, glossy smooth ceramic owls and papercraft owls. I had just decided to indulge my preoccupation further and start creating my own paper owls, when I logged on to Facebook and saw my friend John Paul had just created a paper owl at that moment! Eerie. And perhaps even more ironic (symbolic?), when I sat down to write this blog post, I was searching through a bunch of photos looking for pictures I had taken of those night herons, and I came across a photo of me and my Grandma (who passed away just days ago). Guess what was on the wall behind us? A macramé owl that she had made. The photo is dim, but it seems also uncanny to me that there is a glowing light above the owl, and there’s those orange-red eyes again too. Is finding that photo at this moment a message from the heavens, delivering iconic insight through the ”enlightened” appearance of an owl? Given all my birdly influences over the years, I’m inclined to sway towards a certain interpretation, but y’all ponder it for yourselves. Should it be such a message, I could only hope that this is one addiction that I don’t shake for quite some time.

Tina Roper is a Communications Consultant and novice artist residing in Columbia, SC. Follow her on Twitter @ItsTrulyTina.

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Stylish New Store Selects a Sustainable Spin

November 4, 2011 by Tina Roper

This is a re-post of an article I wrote for WIStv.com.

Upcycled luxury lifestyle is the mood quietly sizzling in a retail pocket of Forest Acres, and it’s emanating from “The Green Phenix”, Columbia’s newest décor store. 

Co-owned by Forest Acres residents Tony Hendon and Gene Jimenez, The Green Phenix touts rescued and redecorated items that were hand selected with an eclectic clientele in mind. But don’t be mistaken, there’s nothing green about Hendon’s and Jimenez’s experience: they are already one of Columbia’s favorite success stories with their wildly popular business “Estate Liquidators of South Carolina”. With sales booked nearly every other weekend of the year and almost 8,000 followers on their Facebook page, they and their talented team are accustomed to catering to the wants and wishes of their many customers and fans.

And from the looks of things at The Green Phenix, they also know precisely what merchandise will resonate with those customers and fans.  As a guest at the store’s soft opening, I got a sneak peak of the choice wares that have already received their green transformations. “At least ninety percent of everything you see has been repurposed, even the light bulbs!”, Hendon proudly shared. Indeed, the store is a glowing mix of old and new, classic and contemporary, Hollywood Regency meets Asian artisan.

The official grand opening of The Green Phenix is this weekend, with store hours on Friday, November 4 from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and on Saturday, November 5 from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. There is something for every person and price point to be found here, including vintage toys, interesting art, ornate mirrors, unique furniture and smaller gift items. Going green definitely just got a whole lot more chic for savvy shoppers in Columbia.

The Green Phenix is located at 1568 Sunnyside Dr. Forest Acres, SC 29204. [Map]

Get more info and browse photos on their Facebook page at http://tinyurl.com/GreenPhenix

Photos by Tina Roper.

Tony Hendon, "TrulyTina" Roper & Geno Jimenez at the opening of The Green Phenix

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Take A Back Road

August 19, 2011 by Tina Roper

TrulyTina stops along the SC National Heritage Corridor

I decided to take a day off work and put a little gravel in my travel. So I headed down roads where flea markets, crop fields and honey stands are standard sights to see. Thus began my adventure along South Carolina’s National Heritage Corridor.

I had some destinations in mind along the Rivers, Rails, and Crossroads Region of the Corridor, including some pickin’ and some geocachin’. But beyond that, no agenda. My first stop was an estate sale in Barnwell hosted by one my favorite picker-feeders, Estate Liquidators of South Carolina. Once again, their sale did not disappoint. I walked out with many goodies, including a 1950′s tube radio that sings like a dream and 1970′s Pioneer turntable that will be a birthday present for @MrSeanRoper. No need for secret surprises with this gift, gems like that just can’t be kept from an audiophile.

The music didn’t stop there, I hit the pavement again and tuned my radio to a classic country station, piping along loudly to ”Queen of Hearts”  and “Lookin for Love”. God bless the day I discover…you got that right!

CCC history at Barnwell State Park

Next stop was Barnwell State Park. Admission to this park is free, and like many of the other SC state parks, its history is steeped with contributions from the Civilian Conservation Corps. I enjoyed the interpretive sign showing a black and white photo of bathing beauties from the late 30′s beside what once was the boat house for the Park’s main swimming hole (it now serves as the office). There are several lakes and fishing ponds at this park, as well as nature trails and even villas that can be rented overnight for a nice nature getaway.

While checking out some geocaching opportunities at Barnwell State Park, I got distracted by the prospects of ghosts and hauntings thanks to the Weird SC geocaching series by cacher PiscesNAries. According to local lore, there are at least two spooky places in this area. One is along Reedy Branch Road, where since the early 1900′s, glowing animal apparitions and human-like figures in Revolutionary War and Civil War uniforms have been spotted. The other is a “ghost train” in the little town of Hilda, where residents report hearing a railcar lumbering along Main Street, despite the absence of train tracks. Spooky. But since I didn’t have my EMF detector or EVP recorder with me, I decided to forego checking these out and attempted to find an EarthCache instead.

I wish God could have given me a personal tour of His Healing Springs

And the EarthCache I wanted was at Healing Springs. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t in need of some good old fashioned healing, so off I went! I’ve read about Healing Springs in local history books I’ve been collecting at yard sales and antique malls, but wasn’t quite sure where it was. On this day, I just happened upon the sign for it in Blackville, SC and made a quick turn to see what it was all about. Like any good touristy spot, a General Store marks your arrival, and boasts a wide front porch and hand dipped ice cream. Just off the porch is the Historical Marker sign that tells the story of Healing Springs, which by the way, now belongs to God. Yah, OK so here’s the story: apparently some white dude claimed it as his own after Native Americans were kind enough to show it to him while he was on his last leg, dying of thirst and in need of fresh water. Tool. Then in the 1940′s, the latest “owner”, in an attempt to make things right in his own quirky way, bequeathed the Springs to…wait for it, not the Native Americans…God. Yup, God. Dear God, I love the South.

Rounding the bend and heading down the adjacent residential street, I found the actual Healing Springs. I was quite shocked to see that there were lines of people here storing up the natural mineral water in their gallon jugs and Coleman coolers. I just wasn’t expecting to witness pilgrimage while geocaching, but as the scriptures say, wherever God is, they will gather in His name. I quickly snapped a photo of a nearby marker and moved along to my next destination.

But where to go next? I didn’t know, but one thing I do know for sure is never ask for directions to North, South Carolina, which is 90 miles southeast of Due West. (Just watch this vintage video and you’ll see what I mean.)

North, South Carolina, which is southeast of Due West and southwest of Columbia

When I saw the sign for North, I considered it an omen that I should close exploration for the day. I went home to play with my new, old Zenith Radio, and put it on a shelf where it would be at home with all my other picking finds. It’s tuner is set to classic country. Did I mention it sings like a dream? Pretty much like my day off work did. I should really take days off more often.

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Keeping Your Website Fresh

August 2, 2011 by Tina Roper

Recently, I was interviewed for Common Sense Marketing by Jack Macholl. We discussed how marketing strategy intermingles with good website management. While the interview focused on a website solution I provided for a specific client, I’ve translated the ideas into some expanded tips below that can apply to any business or personal website.

  • No one wants to have an ordinary website when they are just getting started on the internet. But don’t be so focused on the bells and whistles (like rotating photos and fancy rollover menus) that you forget the main pieces of information that visitors come to your website get. A good, “basic” website will – at a minimum – clearly communicate your services and contact information, and should have a clean design that is professional yet inviting.
  • Each time you create new marketing collateral or update your website, you are subliminally telling existing and potential customers that you are paying attention and willing to change. Purposeful modifications to your messaging makes customers (and competitors) take notice. In today’s economy, you can’t afford to go unnoticed. Therefore, you can’t afford to have an outdated website or let your social media presence go stagnant.
  • When considering an update to your website, decide at what level you want to tackle the task. Sometimes you’ll want a complete design overhaul, sometimes you’ll want to just refresh. At either level, you should only update if you intend to improve the information or functionality. Don’t just expand for the sake of expanding, quantity doesn’t necessarily translate to quality. It could actually have the reverse effect: increased page volume can water down your message, and you may lose visitors’ interest. Keep the content AND the design relevant.
  • A successful business will show its willingness to grow and adapt as changes are occurring around them. That flexibility can translate in to word-of-mouth referrals that can ripple far beyond your current customer base. Leads are invaluable in any business, so walk-the-walk and talk-the-talk to convince your customers you are in tune with what they need as their needs change.  
  • Take advantage of any and all opportunities to make yourself accessible to your customers. Respond to inquiries that come through your website, Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages in timely manner, even if it means hiring a consultant or an additional staff member to get the job done. An open dialogue builds rapport, and good rapport means happy customers that will come back in the future.
  • Know who you are hiring to update and maintain your website, and know that investing in someone who has a wide range of capabilities can mean return dividends to your business. A seasoned website designer will be skilled at ensuring quality content management: they will know how to present copy that is descriptive enough to get the point across, yet concise enough to get picked up by the search engines. This placement and balance is not a setup that just anyone can achieve in a WYSIWYG website builder software program, so consider calling in the professionals before you try to do the work yourself. 
  • A good website manager will be informed about changes in web technologies and know exactly how to flex with them to achieve the maximum results for you. And perhaps more importantly, the professional designers will be ethical enough to let you know when NOT to apply the “fancy stuff” so that you don’t waste your time (and money) on something you don’t need.

Tina Roper is a Communications Consultant and novice artist residing in Columbia, SC. Follow her on Twitter @ItsTrulyTina.

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She Got A Bad Perm

July 19, 2011 by Tina Roper

It was the early ’90s. Everyone thought Charlie Sheen was hot. “In Living Color” was the coolest. And women all over America were rocking their perms.

And so was I. Each day, I teased and sprayed until I could add at least 2 inches to my height. (Hey, it pushed me over the 5 foot mark, do you blame me?) To achieve this look, I had to perm my stick straight, baby fine hair at least 2-3 times a year. I always asked my stylist for the BIG HAIR SPECIAL: the spiral curl perm. You ladies know what I am talking about. Move over Bon Jovi!

Holy High Hair!

One time when I had a perm scheduled, I was also taking an antibiotic. The night after my delightful do was done, I woke up to use the bathroom, looked in the mirror and saw my whole body covered in HIVES, head to toe. Cue the screeching horror movie music, successive close-ups, and a Macaulay Culkin jaw drop.

So I went the emergency room, ’cause it was BAD! People were looking and staring as I walked through the automatic doors. My face was puffed up like a blowfish. I went to the check-in desk, and after jumping back a little, obviously they could see what was wrong. I explained I wasn’t sure if it was a reaction to the chemicals in the perm, or maybe it was the meds, I didn’t know. So they sat me down in the waiting room to do the usual paperwork.

Across the waiting room was an elderly couple: a man in a wheelchair with a hearing aid and afghan draped across his knees; a blue-haired wife dutifully perched next to him, knitting what was surely to be her husband’s next blanket. The old man, who perhaps had forgotten to turn on his hearing aid that day, leaned into his wife, waved his wrinkled finger in my direction and said loudly (so the whole waiting room could hear) “WHAT HAPPENED TO HER?”. The wife, sensing the decibel level at which her husband had inquired, said back just as loudly, if not louder, “SHE GOT A BAD PERM!”

OK so let’s face it, haven’t we all been victims of a “bad perm?” Eventually the decades pass, and the ridicule you endured as a result of your bad fashion choices fades into nothingness. But that day, not only was I forced to face that my poor choice in hair styles had sent me trekking to the ER, but I also had to face the judgment of said coif by an old couple who had clearly seen a lifetime of hair-dos against which they could solidly and swiftly critique mine. It was like meeting St. Peter, I tell ya…

Turned out in the end I was allergic to the medication I was taking, so contrary to the old-lady-diagnosis, the reaction was not because of the perm. But that moment, that experience, will live in infamy as yet another TRULY TINA moment. Sometimes change creeps up on you slowly like thong underwear, sometimes it kicks you in the head with neon Converse. I definitely got my nudge towards “The Rachel” that day, whether I was ready for it or not.

“SHE GOT A BAD PERM!”

Indeed.

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Summer Snake Safety

July 10, 2011 by Tina Roper

I’m also a Content Producer / blogger for the NBC affiliate in Columbia, SC, WIS TV Channel 10. Check out my latest article there called Summer Snake Safety: includes safety tips, a snake ID guide, bite prevention, info about pet vaccines and more. Learn how to identify harmless snakes and the poisonous ones, like this rattlesnake (a photo I took in my yard in South Carolina).

Canebrake Rattlesnake

 

Posted in Animals and Pets | Leave a Comment »

The Adventures of Dewey Schultz

June 30, 2011 by Tina Roper

Reviving this story on its 5 year anniversary! It’s never a dull ride with TrulyTina!

Friday, June 30, 2006 – So Sean and I decided to take a ride into Ely today. The Northland Market there has a pretty good selection of natural foods and we thought we’d pick up some Birch Beer if we could find it. They also make homemade doughnuts there, which if I remembered correctly were a delightful combination of drippy sugar and flaky goodness. Ely is about 15 miles away from the Timber Bay Lodge…one straight shot on Hwy. 21.

Truly Tina at the Superior National Forest

TrulyTina at Superior National Forest

Along Hwy. 21, it’s mostly trees: the road crosses through the Superior National Forest. Every now and then, there is a clearing for electrical wires and you can look down the pole corridor. Last year, in one of these clearings we saw a deer. Sean just got done saying “I love to look down these, you never know what critters you might see.“

Just then we came over a short hill, and I saw something large and black in the road. “What’s that?” It was circling a stopped car. Sean said, “I think it’s a bear!”. The “bear” then got animated and was circling faster. “Is that a DOG?”, I said, not believing it myself even as the words came out of my mouth. I thought surely this was some NorthWoods animal I had never seen before, and it was much too big to be a dog.

As we got closer, we could see clearly that it was indeed a dog. A BIG dog. By now, it had stopped herding the car and repositioned to sniff carrion on the middle yellow line. Then it bumbled off to the road shoulder wagging its tail as if on a grand adventure. We assumed this meant it didn’t belong to the drivers of the stopped car, which – now that the road was clear – proceeded to drive on. Seeing that rain was coming, and that the dog kept darting into the Highway, I said to Sean “See if he’ll come to you.” Sean obliged. Sean no sooner cleared the car door and got out one “Here boy!” when the dog happily trotted towards him. I couldn’t believe that this oh-yeah-it’s-GOT-to-be-over-110-pounds-dog ambled like an energetic puppy. What I couldn’t believe more was that Sean was going along with my rescue attempt! And he thinks he’s not a dog person…

This is not the first time I’ve stopped traffic to rescue wildlife from road hazards: I once corralled 4 lanes of cars in a busy residential Ohio neighborhood to let a family of ducks cross. I lost one little chick that day and it still haunts me. I eyeballed the rearview mirror and saw a pickup truck coming. “We have to do something, we can’t leave him out here!”, I thought. I said to Sean, “Just open the door and see if he’ll jump in.” Loving his new playmate (Sean), the dog easily scaled the large step of our SUV and got into the back seat, where we conveniently still had our dog’s car bed covering the upholstery. I was delighted at the success of our rescue attempt. Sean jumped back into his seat, out of breath and wearing a “Now what woman?!” expression. I gleefully said “We’ll drop him off at the Ranger Station in Ely.”

Then Sean grimaced and said “EWWWWWWW! What’s that smell!” I didn’t smell a thing. “Augh! Smells like poop!”. I cheerfully said “Oh, he’s dirty dog! Probably got some stuck to his paw.”  Sean, wrinkled and feigning a gag reflex proclaimed “No it REALLY smells like sh*t!”. Then I got a little whiff. “OK here, I’ll roll down some windows”. Thinking his new human companion (Sean) was talking favorably about him, the dog lunged towards the front seat and rested his upper body on the mid-console between us, as if he’d been riding there his whole life. Sean muttered “No-no, not in the front seat. STAY BACK!” I scratched under the dog’s chin and said “Good dog. Stay. Good.” to which I was rewarded with a constant stream of 110-pound-plus-dog-slobber dripping down my arm for the remainder of the ride. The rain started pouring down outside, and I said to Sean “See, it could have been worse, we could have picked him up AFTER the storm. You’re doing a good thing.” Sean replied “Hmph!” OK, that didn’t work. So I said “Just think if it were Mocha that got loose…you’d want someone to pick her up.” That worked. “Yeah, I know”, Sean said, still not convinced.

MrSeanRoper ans TrulyTina @ the Ely, MN Forest Ranger Station

MrSeanRoper and TrulyTina @ the Ely, MN Forest Ranger Station

As we neared the Ranger Station we noticed a police car entering the parking lot. Our timing is perfect, I thought, “We’ll have everyone working on this missing dog case, rangers, police, maybe they’ll call the local radio station and the owners will hear!” Sean got out of the car to talk to the officers, and the dog repositioned and whined…was his buddy leaving him? It was then that I noticed the source of the smell Sean was talking about. The dog’s entire tail end was encrusted with poo…and to boot, the dog bed and my crutches that were on that dog bed (I thought Sean moved those?) were now also encrusted. Great, so much for our stroll through Ely today…I’m not going far without my crutches.

The Police told Sean that we should take the dog to the local vet. So we ventured a few blocks away to the clinic. This time when Sean got out, the dog (being too lonely the last time Sean left) followed him all the way up to the vet’s door. “Take him in with you” I shouted out the driver’s side window. “No, he’s covered in poop!”, Sean yelled back, annoyed. So the dog wandered the parking lot, surveying all the other pet smells in the bordering grass. He even greeted a few newcomers arriving in their cars. I hopped out of the SUV, and explained “We picked up a stray”, hoping they’d excuse the greeting-by-nose-nudge and, of course, the smell. Most just looked at me strangely, because I was hopping in the parking lot on one foot. The dog made me forget my embarrassment by every now and then coming close enough to give me a doggie drive-by and a big drooly smile.

A likeness of Dewey Schultz, the Burmese mountain bear, er , dog

A likeness of Dewey Schultz, the Burmese mountain bear, er , dog

The vet tech eventually came out, and upon one look said “Dewey! What are ya doin’?” in a thick and lofty midwestern accent that made us giggle. Sean, astonished, said “Oh, you know this dog?” The tech said “Yup, it’s Dewey! Dewey Schultz”. Then Sean and I laughed out loud, part from relief that the owners could be located, and partly from the hilarious first and last name combination. The tech told us Dewey was a Burmese Mountain Dog. “So you guys are on vacation? You guys are so nice for doing this on your vacation!” I said “Well I’m on crutches and Dewey-dog left a little poopy present on my crutches and all over our back seat!” The tech – once Dewey was safely leashed – snatched up my crutches and hosed them down for me. Returning them she said “I used extra soap, and the good smelling stuff, too.” I was grateful, our day in Ely was salvaged. Sean, however, was still not convinced. “Who is going to hose down the SUV seats?” he was wondering. I reconfirmed with the tech that she knew the owners, and then said we’d probably stop by later to make sure Dewey was returned safe and sound. I was instantly vetoed by a side-glance from Sean…”My vacation day is already shot on this dumb dog, I’m not devoting another minute!, his look said. “I’ll scrub the SUV seats when we get home, honey” – I was that satisfied with my rescue.

As we pulled out of the vet’s parking lot – with clean crutches and a new idea of what to do in Ely that day – I said to Sean, “It’s always an adventure with me babe!” Begrudgingly, he agreed.

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