Growing up, and to this day, I feel as though I connect better with animals than I do people. At first, my love for animals was limited to dogs (and monkeys). I grew up alongside my best doggy pal Buddy, and when I stayed local for college at UMD, I was never more than 30 minutes away from him.

Fast forward 4 years, I moved to Connecticut for graduate school, leaving Buddy in the loving hands of my family. I know many of us leave behind our furry best friends during school, but I was lost.

I loved animals, and if I couldn’t be with my own, I wanted to make sure others could feel loved and one day find a home just as loving as Buddy’s. So, I found myself volunteering at The Animal Haven, a shelter in North Haven, CT, for the two years I was up north. I would walk, socialize, advertise, and spend almost all day everyday with the resident dogs (when not in class of course!).

I am currently a cat adoption coordinator, but I haven’t mentioned cats once. My dad is very allergic to cats, so I had never really been around them growing up, although I had been exposed to their stereotypical (totally unfair) characterization of being “mean”.

After spending a few months at the shelter, our shelter manager asked if I would foster a one-year-old cat and her one-day-old kitten. I was hesitant, but how could I say no? I had never spent more than a few minutes with cats, but that experience was lifechanging. After those two, I fostered more kittens, and then wrapped up my grad school career by fostering a pregnant momma cat and having her deliver her babies right on my bed. Talk about the messy miracle of birth! I’ve been hooked ever since.

I feel the need to make up for all the lost time without cats in my life! They are so underrated, underappreciated, loving and sweet, and don’t get me started on their tiny little toe beans!

I’ve recently returned from grad school and moved back in with my very allergic dad (and my best friend Buddy!), but I hope to be moving out shortly to be able to foster all the cats, kittens, dogs, and puppies who need temporary stops to their furrever homes!

I am so thankful for Lucky Dog. Helping animals find their forever home provides me with such joy and purpose, and I cannot wait to see what the future holds!