Kellyn
Zimmerlin

This is the place to
find out all about Mrs. Zim

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Hi!  I'm Kellyn.  People have a lot of trouble pronouncing my name...  but it's actually very easy once you know that it rhymes with Helen.

This page is my way of introducing myself.  I'll start by telling you about my two careers...

For quite a long time, I worked in a clerical position with Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo.  I retired in 2003, and decided to change my life!

Kellyn Zimmerlin, ultrasound technician A digitally re-touched photo, not my real license plate! I embarked on a multi-year journey to become an ultrasound technician.  It was something that had fascinated me ever since the first time I had an ultrasound performed on me.

I started with a two year training program from a local medical technology school.  There was a LOT to learn, but I've always been good at learning.  I was really motivated, and became one of the top students in my school.  After all the classroom work, I did an internship that really gave me the real-world training you can't get in a medical school!  And later, my school asked me to come back and  teach the class!

With my training complete, I ended up working as an ultrasound tech in two of our local hospitals and later at a imaging center in Orange county.  It was a long road to get there...  with a lot of training ...  but I really enjoyed the time I spent as an ultrasound tech.  I just love learning new things, and in ultrasound it seemed like I was learning something new just about every day.

In 2011 I cleared a major professional hurdle and passed the ARDMS exam.  That was a BIG deal!  That's the equivalent in the ultrasound world to passing the bar exam in the legal world.  A very big deal, and now I have letters after my name.  I'm Kellyn Zimmerlin, RDMS.

After my husband started to notice how well I was doing as an ultrasound tech, he said something that really rang true to me:  it's a shame I discovered this interest and aptitude in medicine so late in life.  If we had known this about me when I was in my 20's, we might have tried to find a way to put me through medical school to become a full-fledged doctor.  I think I would have been really good at that.

Working as an ultrasound tech made it tricky to take time off for vacations, so eventually I retired from ultrasound...  and these days I am enjoying spending my time at home, working on projects in my craft room.



Kel getting Cocker kisses!I totally adore Cocker Spaniels, and Jim and I bred them as a hobby for 15 years...  until we finally retired from Cocker breeding in 2010.  They brought us so much joy!  If you've ever had a Cocker puppy of your own, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.  Now multiply the joy you experienced by a factor of 7 or 8...  and you'll appreciate what fun it is to have a whole litter of puppies to play with for 8 weeks.  I love puppy breath!

Back when our Cocker breeding program was active, I was the one that delivered all the puppies.  Think of me as a midwife for Cocker Spaniels!  And not only did I deliver all the pups, but I spent the first 4 or 5 days in our "Puppy Palace" with the mom and her new babies to disprove the old saying that "only the strong survive".  With my help, they ALL survived!  Even the weak ones...  and believe me, I bottle-fed plenty of puppies who wouldn't have made it otherwise.  It was always very tiring when we had a new litter of pups, but it was such a satisfying kind of tired!

After we retired from breeding Cockers, we got down to just one (very spoiled) dog at our house...   that's Morgan, my favorite dog of all time.  Here we are together:

Kellyn Zimmerlin with Morgan

Any time Jim wanted to know where Morgan was, he just had to find me...  and she was within a few feet.  She was like my little shadow.  We had a very special bond.  After all, I delivered her!  Yes, she was one of only a few puppies that we ever kept from our litters...  and the only one that we decided to keep after we made the decision to simplify our lives and retire from Cocker breeding.  Sadly, Morgan passed away in September of 2018, at the age of 16.

One of the reasons we retired from breeding Cockers was to free up more time for vacations.  It's hard to find someone to care for a house full of dogs when you want to go on vacation.  And when I say vacation...  I mean cruising!  Boy, I love to go on cruises!  Jim and I have been on over 45 cruises together...  and we think it's just the best way to vacation.  We have so much fun on our cruises!  Click here to read about some of our favorites.

Kellyn Zimmerlin on cruise ship

In 2019, I came up with a brilliant idea that has completely changed my life!  Still grieving from the loss of my special Cocker, Morgan, and remembering fondly how much I enjoyed having puppies in my life back in the years when we bred Cockers...  our house just was way too quiet and empty.  That's when I came up with the idea to contact Woods Humane Society, let them know about my 15 years of experience raising Cocker puppies, and volunteer to foster litters of puppies for them.  They immediately jumped at the chance to get me involved, and in February of 2019 we got our first foster litter.  Take a look at this video that Jim made about it...

In April of 2019 we fostered our second litter!  This time it was Chihuahua puppies.  Here's a video about that litter...

I'm pretty sure that in the coming months and years, there are going to be a lot of litters of puppies growing up at our house.  We feel that we are uniquely qualified to help both Woods Humane Society and the puppies...  and having foster litters for only a few weeks or a couple of months at the most works really well with our vacation schedule!


A few pictures from my photo collection...


July 2016

 

Kellyn Zimmerlin
May 2014

 

Sheri wedding
At our daughter's wedding - April 2005

 

Kellyn with our pet macaw
I've got a fondness for Macaws

 

Kellyn Zimmerlin on zipline shore excursion
Life is an adventure!

 

Kellyn cheerleader
Even as a young kid, I had a lot of spirit!
Here I am rooting for my brother's baseball team.
Quite appropriately, I was the exclamation point!



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