Deborah J. Hall

Deborah J. Hall was born and raised in Ithaca, NY, attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison and graduated from Cornell University. After years working in the broadcast industry (radio and TV), and living in various parts of the US, she settled in Anacortes, WA with her husband and dogs. There she found her true passions (aside from aforementioned husband and dogs!): writing and working with dogs to improve the lives of many.

Currently she serves as the Executive Director of an organization she co-founded, Dogs On Call... an all-volunteer organization that helps match certified therapy dogs with various opportunities to serve those in need in the community (www.DogsOnCall.wix.com/DogsOnCall). She and her own dogs work in elementary schools in such innovative programs as canine-assisted therapy for troubled youth, mainstream educational/behavioral motivation programs for 2nd graders, and reading enhancement programs for those with challenges with this critical skill.

Her writing career started in when she was a writer/producer in radio and TV and in 1997, she penned her first of three novel for adults, one of which made it into the quarter finals of one of Amazon's ANBA competitions. In 2012, she decided to self-publish these novels so they are now available on www.amazon.com (under author name "Deborah Jager Hall").

As her work with dogs and children grew, she turned to creating books that she felt would be appealing and beneficial to the younger set... creative nonfiction books for early readers. Using her own experiences and with the help of her writing partner and fellow therapy dog handler/owner, Donna Vaquer, she created The Rainbow Series: Dogs Who Help... a unique series of children's books about real dogs who help others in various ways. Illustrated with color photographs of the actual dogs in action, these books have proven to be very popular in the schools and libraries where Deborah and Donna volunteer.

Deborah also spent over 6 years as a volunteer for Summit Assistance Dogs, serving in a variety of capacities including raising and training a number of dogs for service work. Some of her experiences with Summit are included in the books as well.

She has written a number of articles about dogs and children, the most recent of which appear on www.childrensdisabilities.info under the heading of therapy dogs. She also counsels parents who are considering a therapy/service dog for their own children with disabilities.

She loves to hear from readers and/or people who are simply interested in dogs and especially what they can do to improve the lives of children. Please email her at info@bunnybudbooks.com.