I was the eldest child born into a family of 2 dogs. My family almost always had dogs, but I grew up primarily with the dog my parents still have, a sheltie named Truman. After graduating from high school, I moved down to DC for college, leaving Massachusetts, and leaving my family, Truman included.

Fortunately during my latter years of college, I found Lucky Dog. I first started volunteering at their adoption events while an undergrad at American University. I missed Truman, and volunteering at adoption events filled that void for a couple hours on a Sunday. One of the great things I discovered about volunteering with Lucky Dog is that they're flexible with your availability and commitment. I did adoption events and home screenings here and there for 2-3 years before I took the leap to become a foster. I was finally living in an apartment that allowed pets, and had the availability to take care of a dog or cat with my work schedule. Wanda, a black lab, was my first foster, and she was adopted less than 24 hours after I picked her up. My subsequent fosters (a puppy named Bentley, a dog named Lacy, three litters of kittens, a dog named Derrick, and another kitten who is still with me and up for adoption!) were with me longer than Wanda was.

Meanwhile, I fell in love with DC. I’ve gone to embassy events, Jazz in the Garden, outdoor movie screenings, and eaten a LOT of good food. I was a White House volunteer for five years. I’m known as the one in the friend group that always knows what’s going on in the city. So when Lucky Dog advertised leading walks of downtown DC and the National Mall for AirBnB experiences, it was a natural fit for me. I had experienced something similar as a participant when I visited Turks and Caicos on vacation in 2017 - Potcakes Place lets you take out puppies for a couple hours so they can get used to life outside the shelter..

What Lucky Dog wanted to do was an even better idea. Our dogs in boarding would get a walk, local and out of town visitors would have a dog for a couple hours, participants would get a mini history lesson about DC, and Lucky Dog would raise funds needed to continue to rescue dogs and cats..

If you’re visiting DC, or are looking to do something on a Saturday morning, come join us! We go past FBI headquarters, the Capitol, the Smithsonian Castle, the Washington Monument, and the White House just to name a few.