Here's the story that appeared in the Hartford Courant yesterday.
Animal Magnetism
By KORKY VANN
The Hartford Courant
June 24, 2001
As a single guy, Clint Knapp had had his share of blind dates - the majority, in his words, unremarkable.
Rene Carragher had just ended a long-term relationship and wasn't interested in getting involved again.
So six years ago, when a mutual friend kept trying to fix them up, the response was less than enthusiastic from both parties. Finally they agreed to meet. Mostly, they say, to prove the friend wrong.
Says Clint: "I'd heard `I've got the ideal match for you' too many times. I didn't go into it with much in the way of expectations."
Says Rene: "I'd just broken up with the person I thought was the love of my life, so really wasn't interested in `this great guy.' I was done with dating."
Turns out the friend was right. They were perfect for each other, even though it didn't seem so on the surface. He's quiet and mild-mannered, she's talkative and has a black-belt in karate. She's organized, he's - well - not. She was a divorced mom with two teenagers, a cat, a dog and a house; he was a lifelong bachelor, no kids, no pets. But from their first date, they were inseparable.
"After we'd been together for a few months, people who met us would think we'd been married for years," says Rene. "We really complement each other."
At the time, it seemed like a classic case of opposites attracting.
In hindsight, "animal magnetism" might be more apt.
A few months after they started dating, Knapp, a security manager at a health center, was asked to solve the problem of feral cats roaming the grounds. He placed a number of the animals, but couldn't find homes for two tinykittens.
"I called Rene and said, `I've got these two balls of white fluff on my desk,' " says Clint Knapp. "Without hesitating, she said, `Bring them home.' "
They named the kittens Milo and Dakota, nursed them to health and adopted them. The experience was so satisfying, the couple started working with a local animal center and taking in other abandoned cats and kittens. Within six months - in spite of the fact that they were juggling full-time jobs, kids and a new relationship - they decided to start their own animal rescue organization called Helping Paws. They also decided to plan a wedding.
Less than a year after they met, the couple was married, surrounded by family, friends and animals. During the five years since, they've built Helping Paws into a volunteer organization that has placed close to 5,000 animals; developed a local radio and cable TV show called "Pet Talk" (Rene hosts, Clint directs and edits); and hit the cat show circuit.
Plans include developing an animal sanctuary and education center on a tract of land that was recently donated to Helping Paws.
The couple does virtually everything together, including talking on the phone two or three times a day, running the organization, coordinating the activities of two busy teenagers, and caring for their 18 cats. They both say they couldn't be happier.
"He got an instant family and I got a new best friend," says Rene. "Best of all, we both got a whole new mission in life and somebody to share it with."
It's a match made in heaven
Donna
Animal Magnetism
By KORKY VANN
The Hartford Courant
June 24, 2001
As a single guy, Clint Knapp had had his share of blind dates - the majority, in his words, unremarkable.
Rene Carragher had just ended a long-term relationship and wasn't interested in getting involved again.
So six years ago, when a mutual friend kept trying to fix them up, the response was less than enthusiastic from both parties. Finally they agreed to meet. Mostly, they say, to prove the friend wrong.
Says Clint: "I'd heard `I've got the ideal match for you' too many times. I didn't go into it with much in the way of expectations."
Says Rene: "I'd just broken up with the person I thought was the love of my life, so really wasn't interested in `this great guy.' I was done with dating."
Turns out the friend was right. They were perfect for each other, even though it didn't seem so on the surface. He's quiet and mild-mannered, she's talkative and has a black-belt in karate. She's organized, he's - well - not. She was a divorced mom with two teenagers, a cat, a dog and a house; he was a lifelong bachelor, no kids, no pets. But from their first date, they were inseparable.
"After we'd been together for a few months, people who met us would think we'd been married for years," says Rene. "We really complement each other."
At the time, it seemed like a classic case of opposites attracting.
In hindsight, "animal magnetism" might be more apt.
A few months after they started dating, Knapp, a security manager at a health center, was asked to solve the problem of feral cats roaming the grounds. He placed a number of the animals, but couldn't find homes for two tinykittens.
"I called Rene and said, `I've got these two balls of white fluff on my desk,' " says Clint Knapp. "Without hesitating, she said, `Bring them home.' "
They named the kittens Milo and Dakota, nursed them to health and adopted them. The experience was so satisfying, the couple started working with a local animal center and taking in other abandoned cats and kittens. Within six months - in spite of the fact that they were juggling full-time jobs, kids and a new relationship - they decided to start their own animal rescue organization called Helping Paws. They also decided to plan a wedding.
Less than a year after they met, the couple was married, surrounded by family, friends and animals. During the five years since, they've built Helping Paws into a volunteer organization that has placed close to 5,000 animals; developed a local radio and cable TV show called "Pet Talk" (Rene hosts, Clint directs and edits); and hit the cat show circuit.
Plans include developing an animal sanctuary and education center on a tract of land that was recently donated to Helping Paws.
The couple does virtually everything together, including talking on the phone two or three times a day, running the organization, coordinating the activities of two busy teenagers, and caring for their 18 cats. They both say they couldn't be happier.
"He got an instant family and I got a new best friend," says Rene. "Best of all, we both got a whole new mission in life and somebody to share it with."
It's a match made in heaven
Donna
