I had a new house, new husband, and all the new appliances from our registry but I knew something was definitely missing from my life. About 2 weeks later, I saw a friend make a Facebook post of puppies that were malnourished and needed homes and this was it. I wanted the runt of the litter and spent the next couple of months nursing her back to health. Tipps has been with me for 4 years now and has been the joy of my life. 

I became involved with Lucky Dog Animal Rescue in November 2013. My daughter was looking to adopt a dog. She had recently lost her 10-year-old Boxer to cancer. My daughter had a weakness for short snout dogs and Lucky Dog had a Pug available. We decided to go to a Sunday event at the Petsmart near our home. When we showed up the Pug was not there but as we were leaving, we spotted Sprout, a Brussel Griffon/Border Collie mix. It was love at first sight. My daughter applied and two days later she was able to bring Scooter (formerly known as Sprout) home.

My wonderful grandmother is a big-time animal lover. Feed the forest animals, feed all the stray cats in the neighborhood kind of animal lover. Her house is full of complimentary stationary, stickers, and tote bags from all of the animal-related nonprofits she supports. She was also a cat volunteer at the Humane Society of Huron Valley in Ann Arbor, MI for well over ten years. Her dedication to animals, coupled with my lifelong love for cats (and all animals, but we can agree that cats are the best), is what made me want to volunteer with animals.

The begging began at 8 years old. My kid brother and I pleaded with our parents to get a dog for months. They had both grown up with dogs and had many throughout their lives so it wasn't as if they weren't against the idea. However, they wanted to wait until we were old enough to help with the responsibilities of having a pet. They finally caved when I was in 4th grade and we adopted Lily, a Belgian malinois mutt, from our local shelter. She was the runt of the litter and very timid.

I have loved animals, dogs specifically for as long as I can remember. I begged my parents for a dog, every time we walked past an adoption event, I wanted to rescue all the dogs. We had pets growing up and they were such a huge part of my life.

When I went to college I volunteered at a local animal shelter since I couldn’t have a dog of my own. My mom always said I needed a diploma and a job before I got a dog but I told her it sounded way better when you said diplomas and dogs. I graduated and the first thing I did was adopt my dog Cooper. He is absolutely my soul dog.