Pet Health Store

Miracles happen When God plants Seeds of Hope
by Nani Aki Linder

Who is Kim Bloomer? Kim Bloomer is a woman of faith and conviction that God almighty drives her bus of life. She is results oriented and devoted to service first to God, then to family including her pet Shadrach and finally her business and clients.

What Kim Bloomer does is teach health and wellness for the preservation of life for all Gods creatures but most particularly animals. She is a guru on natural health and consults on the care of pets from horses to cats and dogs. Animals have a loyal and fierce advocate in Kim for their basic humane rights. She is not a militant advocate, she is a gentle one. She is a serious minded woman who cares about nutrition and holistic healing. Her work is all inclusive. Her heart reaches out to all with empathy and a generous spirit of hope. She is knowledgeable in healing oils, natural nutrition and has recently co-authored a book about Animal Health with a well know Veternarian. She is someone I personally turn to when I need pet advice for my dog, Maile Beach. If she can’t answer, she finds someone who can. I trust her instincts because she places people and pets before profit. Rare quality in today’s competitive marketplace.

Kim and I have become close, caring friends. She is like a sister and as sisters you exchange life experiences. Kim, I have come to learn, can take a punch in the gut with the best of them. Most important she stands up again, and again and again landing in thrive mode.

Life isn’t always kind but what makes the magnificent women special to our readers is they generously allow us into their lives to experience candidly their pain, faith and yes happiness in the hopes that it will inspire you to stand up and move forward through your own trials by fire. That takes courage. I applaud each woman or family who lends their strength to benefit the lives of strangers.

When I asked Kim what her husbands name was she replied this way: “My honey’s name is Donnie. We met when I was 18 and he had just turned 21 in late winter of 1975. We dated for awhile but then he went off to the Army and I went off into La La land. I later married a guy from Sweden (my stepdad was a naturalized citizen from Sweden). When I was divorcing, Donnie magically appeared back into my life just discharged from the Army.” Kim tells me it’s been a rough and harrowing road they’ve traveled. She explains its like going from darkness into the Light. Donnie is African American. Kim says,”heck I always say black and I’m a mixed breed (grin): Hispanic mom and my dad was Scottish/Irish.” Kim shared that, ” Donnie is my true love and he really always has been. He’s a good man and my champion!” How grand it is to find ones soul mate. While it’s been a long, hard road for them, ” it has been worth it says Kim,” to get here.” A few months ago when we wrote NWAHMA’s President’s story, Lynn Phelps, Kim was moved to tears and in awe and shared how similar their paths were. She immediately contacted Lynn to tell her how meaningful Lynn’s story was for her. A few weeks later she agreed to follow Lynn’s example and share her own life’s message of HOPE for this Thanksgiving issue.

As we began to lift the veil of silence further Kim reveals, “I had an interesting upbringing. My mom was my dad’s second marriage. She met him in a bar where he played the bass upright in an all black R&B band -except my dad was white. My mom is Hispanic so that made for some trouble in the family since my dad’s family was Little Rock, Arkansas white. My dad fought the Japanese in WWII as a Marine at the ripe old age of 15. That experience left definite mental scars which dad never overcame.!”

Consequently, Kim’s mom endured cruel racism for as long as they were married. They all were to endure Her dad’s alcoholism and abuse. Finally her mom decided life would be better apart because Kim’s dad was starting in on her children too. Kim’s Mother was young, moved around a lot and eventually remarried. Kim says she went to so many schools growing up that she never really bonded well with people. But she seemed to have a gift with animals and bonded well with them just as she does today. Kim has told me more than once that she can’t remember not always being drawn to and having an affinity for animals.

Kim’s dad’s family had several restaurants. “Even with all his crazy drug and drinking drama, their restaurants flourished and did well until my grandmother could no longer run them! My mom’s mother ran a cotton candy stand right from her home and had a little window for people to stop by and pay her and get their fresh cotton candy. I LOVED helping her do this because then I got cotton candy, LOL!”

From what Kim’s says, both her grandmothers greatly influenced her with learning about and using natural remedies before reaching for drugs to heal. She was also fortunate to have worked in the family restaurants during her youth. This relevant training taught Kim important work ethics and a strong desire to be her own boss.

Kim candidly admits she went through many struggles including drug and drinking problems.
“I had a wild youth, went to college at the University of NM as a Fine Arts major with a dance emphasis for a while but didn’t finish. Several years later I met and married my ex-husband and did finish business school. When we divorced, I was a mess!” Thankfully that was when my old friend from my teen years, Donnie, came back into my life. We married shortly after my divorce was final.” Today they enjoy their very own oasis of blissful marriage in its18th year. Way to go Kim and Donnie! Kim shares that, “We’ve struggled in a lot of ways. Our marriage has survived because of our mutual love and respect for each other and most importantly, because God is our central glue.”

“I want to thank Donnie who helped me mend my relationships with both my real dad and my stepdad. Both have passed away but it really helped me grow to mend those relationships. He was a rock of compassion and caring through those difficult moments of reaching out.”

Bonus for Kim is that Donnie has a love of animals just as she does. He has supported her work through every trial and error. Kim eventually ended up doing what she knows in her heart she was destined to do all along -work with animals in particular dogs and cats. Kim’s faith and trust in God led her every direction. She has learned to let go and let God! It is that sustained faith that helped Kim grow and endure her trials by fire turning the lemons of life into sweet lemonade. Today she uses her life experiences in service to others.

Kim reveals that the catalyst that sent her headlong back into not only pet care but natural, preventative pet care was their dog Shadrach. Shadrach is a great big Neo Mastiff who just wouldn’t allow her to care for him with traditional food or medicine. He is, she believes, a cat disguised as a Mastiff.

Kim and Donnie got Shadrach as a horribly abused, neglected and starved ugly duckling puppy. It is that same ugly duckling puppy who taught them how to nurture him into the beautiful, engaging, funny, intelligent dog he has become. He had so many health challenges that Kim HAD to seek a more excellent way of caring for him. So she did. As a direct result of Kim’s past experiences and training, integrated with all she’s since learned and continues to learn in natural care, Kim now has the pet business she always dreamed of as a child. That was and continues to be working with healthy pets by keeping them from getting sick in the first place!

“All I learned culminated into what I am now doing! Shadrach is such an integral part of our business too since he does all my blogging for me. He is the constant inspiration and reminder to me of why I do what I do as a natural pet care educator. With Shadrach as my inspiration, my husband as my love, supporter and encourager, and my God as my purpose, I feel anything is possible!!” Well said Kim.

Authors note:
My grandfather told me as a young child, “Nani Girl, Your character is measured by how you treat all creatures, big or small, people or animals!” Kim and Donnie have shown this strength of character and integrity of sterling quality through example. Life has not been a bowl of cherries for them. Yet their love, devotion and keeping God as their glue have brought them through trials that would have shipwrecked many. They did it with grace, dignity and a deeper faith. May God continue to shine in and through your lives. When you pause a moment to see beyond the obvious, the unspoken words ring out. This young girl who suffered from alcoholism, racial slurs, other abuse and her own “wild life”, ran past survive to claim for herself a life of thrive. May you drink from the well of Kim Bloomers experiences and decide that you too can claim the choice to thrive. Just reach out and take it. Why? You are worthy!

Nani Linder
PH: 509-467-7714 nani@universityoflife.info