As is the case for so many in this passion-driven field, my love for all things animal and rescue began at a very early age; from caterpillars found outside to a box of abandoned kittens, I wanted to save them all. Although we were a dog-loving family, my dad would often have to tell me “no more heartbeats” when I begged to keep a kitten, lizard, or fish (true story: I once found a goldfish swimming in the flooded gutter during a bad storm and “rescued” it).

“Mom, can we go see the cats in Petco? Just to look at them?”- Me at 8 years old.

Of course, we came home with two kittens. Life with two cats is how it was supposed to be. I had lost the last member of my childhood kitty duo a few months prior, and things just weren’t the same. I think we were all missing life without the morning meows for food and pets, the comedy of nightly zoomies, and the satisfaction of being the chosen lap while watching “Survivor” on Friday night with the family (and had forgotten the periodic “gifts” of dead mice and rats in the living room).

I grew up in a world surrounded by animals. We of course had our own resident dogs; Marley, Taz, Belle, & Lily that made affluent impacts on my childhood. My grandmother was an equine enthusiast, and I was fortunate enough to have had the privilege of riding horses alongside her for many years. Beyond that, my father was an avid outdoorsman. We spent many weekends in waiters, thigh high in mud and muck trying to reach bird nests that my dad had built himself to restore native populations. Along the way we would encounter whitetail deer, mallard ducks, garden snakes, etc.

I always had cats (and a dog!) growing up. I made extra cash as the neighborhood cat sitter. I "rescued" the litter of kittens that were born in my neighbor's shed when I was 10. My high school job was cleaning kennels and walking dogs at a nearby veterinary clinic. All this to say, animal rescue has always been in the back of my mind. I grew up, adopted 2 kittens of my own from a local rescue in Michigan and eventually moved with my family to Washington, DC. 5 years ago I lost one of those two kittens to cancer.

Like most things in my life, it has been a long and winding road to Lucky Dog Animal Rescue. Growing up, my parents were not dog people – my mother’s view was that if she wanted a dog, she would have had a third child. My husband, on the other hand, always had a dog but needed a way to convince me. As the story goes, one cold wintry day a very cold hungry stray puppy hopped into his car at the end of his work day, which began my journey to Lucky Dog!