Journalist, dog advocate settles in Carson Valley

Pat Stanley has a work history as a journalist and now is retired and living here in Johnson Lane. Pat spent his career in broadcasting and as a news reporter on KVON Ð KVYN on the radio and as a journalist for the Napa Valley Register.

I asked what the most interesting story he ever did was. He said he made two trips to the barrios of Tijuana, Mexico. One time was with a dentist to fix children's teeth and once with a church group to put a new roof on a church that had dirt floors.

As far as his travels for his job, he's had two trips that he dearly loved. One trip he made in March 2000 to Alaska was for the International Ice Sculpting Contest. His other most memorable was in 1999 when he flew to Holland and traveled across the country on a bicycle. He showed me several photos of the beautiful countryside that he had taken over there.

Pat is an avid photography enthusiast and often submitted his own photos to complement his newspaper columns. He and I have a lot in common because next he showed me his new toy in the garage - a 1994 Honda Pacific Coast 800cc motorcycle and it's red, of course.

Now that Pat has retired here to Carson Valley, he plans to buy a small motor home and travel for a couple of months touring the festivals across the country, and his two best friends, Briar and Patch, are going along. Briar is a shepherd mix and Patch is an English pointer.

During my interview with Pat, he revealed a personal story he didn't mind if I shared with my readers. He was born in Canada and adopted as an infant. Four years ago at the age of 60 he sought out to find his birth mother. She had passed away but in his quest he found he had nine brothers and sisters and he has met eight that are still alive. In the four years that has passed since they first met, they have all become very close.

Pat is actively involved with DAWG here in Douglas County. You will find him out walking the dogs every Friday. He is also very excited to be a member of the Carson Valley Photography Club. He showed me several photos he has taken here in our Valley that are hanging on the walls of his home and they looked like they should be hung in a gallery.

-- Lisa Welch is a Johnson Lane resident and can be reached at 267-9350.