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Who is the Girl with the Dogs?

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That would be me, Kelsey Hammond. Colorado native, newest CHN writer and volunteer foster with Mile High Canine Rescue. Overnight Friday night, my phone started blowing up with Twitter follows, comments and likes. “Dogs? Hockey? Who is this?” Who is this new person in my Avs feed?

Where to begin? As I said, I am an actual Colorado native, which is truly a bragging right, to me anyway. Born and raised right here in the 303. In 2001 at the age of 7, I watched Patrick Roy lift the Stanley Cup and I said “That! That is what I want to do!” A few weeks later my parents would purchase my first of many goalie sets. I still say sorry to this day to them for picking the most expensive position in all of sports. Fast forward to 2012, four ACL surgeries and a rotator cuff surgery later, it was time to hang up the skates. The dreams of playing college hockey and, maybe, one day, for Team USA were officially over. What the hell do I do now? 

I attended Metropolitan State University, pursuing a degree in journalism. If I can’t play the sport anymore, I might as well talk about it. The goal was big. ESPN big. I wanted to be in front of the camera and own it. Problem? Turns out, I am very camera shy. This wasn’t going to work. Sigh…change of plans…again.

This time, I tried my hands at writing. Now we were getting somewhere. I get to keep my face off-camera but still continue to pursue sports. I interned at 104.3 The Fan and fell in love with radio. I was a fresh-faced college kid, going to break into a male-dominated industry. World, you’re my oyster.

Absolutely not.

I graduated college and did what any college kid would do: Find a job that pays to get out of my parent’s house. 

Bartending was great and it gave me the flexibility to still keep trying my hands at this sports reporting stuff. Let me tell you though: those 3 a.m. nights wear on you. I fell into the construction industry after that and found a steady 9-5 job. This is what my sanity needed. Bjut I could see my hopes and dreams of making it into the sports world fading away. 

Time to find a new passion. Insert the dogs. I have two rescue dogs: Taco, a 17-year-old spawn of Satan and Groot, the loveable, bald, bulldog. Groot was chemically burnt and is literally missing half of his hair. This catapulted me into the dog rescue world. My fiancé and I currently foster sick and injured dogs for Mile High Canine Rescue. The current dog we have is Heartworm positive and needs a double hip and knee. Hot mess sums her up nicely. We will get her fixed up and then help find her a forever home. It’s definitely a challenging job but also the most rewarding. If you are looking to add a furry friend, you now have a contact

You’re still probably wondering what I am doing here if I had given up on the sports world? A Twitter post and a “why not attitude” brought me here. I’m excited to be here, covering the team we all love and seeing where this crazy world takes us. 

So, let’s get this started. I’m at my first game ever tonight, sitting in the press box, nervous as all get-out. But I’m here, ready to give this a shot.

As Mama Cass sang: Dream a little dream with me.

Kelsey Hammond is a regular contributor to Colorado Hockey Now. Follow her @Kelseyhammond32

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