Growing up in Northern VA, my family always had a dog. But to be honest, animal rescue was never foremost in my mind. My parents taught me to love, respect and care for animals - to treat them like family - but the discussion of rescue was not one that was prevalent in our house. I fell into my passion for rescue quite by accident during college at James Madison University. JMU is in quite a rural area and I would see puppies in boxes and dog chained outside of homes and I just couldn’t understand how people could treat their pets like this. So it was no surprise when my roommate came home and told me she saw an injured puppy “for sale” at a local farm that I jumped in my car and made the trip out there.

It is there that I met my Bailey! I remember a tiny Black Lab mix puppy hopping toward me out of the barn on 3 legs. He was wiggly and happy and full of puppy kisses and he wasn’t going to let an injured front paw stop him from getting some love and attention. I didn’t know it at the time but this “farm” was a puppy mill and Bailey was one of the victims. The owners told me that he had gotten his paw caught in a trap and they had sewn it up with yarn! After fighting with them and refusing to pay for him, I took Bailey and my journey into rescue began. A year and 3 orthopedic surgeries later, Bailey was the most lovable lab you could imagine and he never let anything slow him down. I learned from Bailey that animals have such a large capacity for love regardless of how humans mistreat them.

Bailey decided he really wanted a sister, so we next traveled to a high kill shelter in West VA to adopt Cassandra. Cassandra was a 4 week old Husky Collie mix, I saw on Petfinder, that was scheduled for euthanasia the following day. I saw that picture and knew she was mine so I drove 5 hours to the shelter hoping to arrive in time to save her. I remember seeing her in a scary kennel alone and covered in mess with adult dry food in a bowl next to her. The attendant at the shelter told me, “I was going to put her down before I left today”. I asked if I could qualify to adopt her and he laughed and said her adoption fee was $20. I paid the man and expectantly waited for the medical information and contracts to follow but he just stared at me wondering what I was waiting for exactly. When I asked if Cassandra had any paperwork or records he said “I can give you a receipt for the $20” - I still have that faded, yellow Dog Pound Receipt! Cassandra was an incredible dog, but except Bailey, she hated other dogs. I learned from Cassandra that patience and love can solve most problems in life and even dogs that others think are “damaged” can turn out to be wonderful.

My experience with the shelter in WVA made me realize that even within the rescue community we can do better for these animals - “saving them” is simply not enough. Enter Lucky Dog Animal Rescue! I had been wanting to volunteer and potentially foster for a credible rescue that cared about their animals and placing them into the BEST homes possible. In 2014, I found Lucky Dog at the Reston Pet Fiesta and applied to become a foster. Bailey had passed away the previous year and, since Cassandra didn’t like other adult dogs, I figured puppy fostering was the way to go! I have had the honor of fostering well over a 100 puppies (they add up with litters). I also got the opportunity to visit Florence, SC and see how LDAR SC works and the extreme battles they are fighting. Seeing the Florence shelter brought me back to my experience in WVA and I realized that becoming more involved as an Adoption Coordinator was a way for me to make sure that as an organization we were doing more for our dogs.

When Cassandra passed away, my house felt so empty and I knew I had to fill that space in my home and heart with a new rescue dog. I immediately contacted LDAR SC and told the volunteers, who had become like family to me, to find me the perfect pup that needed me as much as I needed her. And so when I got a text message, a week later, about a 4 month old lab puppy that was having some real “socialization” problems, I volunteered to foster her whole liter starting that weekend! I adopted Paisley Off Transport. Let’s face it - we all know she had me the second I saw her picture and the moment she came off the van and into my arms she was mine. Paisley needed a little more convincing though. Everyone that knows Paisley knows two things 1. How much I love her and 2. She is a special flower with her own unique quirks. She makes me smile and laugh everyday and working with her to overcome her challenges has taught me the importance of training and never giving up on a dog. Everyone thinks their dog is “special” and Paisley is no exception to that rule. She is my best friend and my partner in crime. From Paisley, I learn something new everyday but mostly unconditional love.

When Lucky Dog asked me to become the Puppy Foster Coordinator, I knew that the time was right to take on a leadership role in the organization. Within LDAR, I obviously adore working with the dogs but one of the best things about Lucky Dog is the people in the organization. I can truly say that my fellow adoption coordinators and fosters have become my family and my very best friends. We support each other during the happy and sad times of rescue. Working with the incredible volunteers of Lucky Dog has made me realize that animal and human interaction must all go together for a successful organization.

I was excited when I took on the additional role of Puppy AC Team Lead. I wanted to make more of a difference for our puppies and help grow a puppy adoption program that not only saved as many puppies as we could but also cared about placing them in appropriate, safe, and loving homes where they will never again be abandoned or mistreated. I wanted all puppies to feel the love and understanding that Bailey, Cassandra and Paisley came to know once adopted. And mostly, I wanted to continue to learn the important life lessons that only a dog can teach you!

Please become a volunteer, an adoption coordinator or a puppy foster by contacting [email protected]. Make a difference in a dog’s life and let those dogs make a difference in yours.