As a child, I never had dogs because my mom was allergic to them. I always knew as soon as I graduated from college and moved into my own place I was going to adopt. Shortly after moving out I started looking at the local animal shelter for an animal to adopt, but I hadn’t clicked with one just yet. I was following an animal rescue foundation in Aruba on Instagram for the past few years, so I started to look more into their mission and adoptable dogs. Sgt Pepper’s Friends focuses a lot on TNR (Trap Neuter Release) as there is very little education in Aruba on why altering your pets is so crucial. Because of this, there is a very large stray population on the island that Sgt Pepper’s aims to rescue from the streets and adopt them to loving homes. I fell in love with not one but two Aruban Cunucus and then the next step was waiting for them to have a flight volunteer for their flight from Aruba to Washington, DC. Tiki and Roo were my first two dogs and got me through some tough times living on my own in DC not knowing many people.

About a year and a half later after my fiancé had moved in with me, we decided to adopt a third Cunucu from Sgt Pepper’s Friends. This time we rescued a 10 month old puppy named Foxy and BOY where we in for a whole new adventure. Tiki and Roo were 5 and 3 years old when we adopted them so we had never dealt with puppy behaviors before Foxy. We learned very quickly that she had some separation anxiety when we came home to a chewed up couch cushion. We quickly started crate training to help with the separation anxiety and to also help keep our furniture intact. We got married a few months later, honeymooned in Aruba, and visited Sgt Pepper’s Friends to volunteer for a few hours. We met Foxy’s foster while there and got to snuggle so many puppies. When we got home, I was looking for a way to get more involved in animal rescue to give back and help the animals in need. I found Lucky Dog Animal Rescue and I immediately signed up to become a Foster and Adoption Coordinator.

We fostered our first dog Jenny in February 2020 right before everything changed. We had Jenny for less than 24 hours since she was adopted at the adoption event the next day and I may or may not have cried in public watching her go home with her forever family. Since then I’ve become super involved as an Adoption Coordinator and Foster and by helping in any other way I can. Seeing the dogs open up as they adjust to their foster or forever home makes my heart so happy. I’m proud to say that I have been an Adoption Coordinator for 109 (and counting) dogs – 93 of which have already found their forever home – and a foster for 21 dogs and kittens.

I’ve dragged my now husband into all of my volunteering as often as I could and he is definitely a keeper since he only mildly complains about giving the kittens pills or going to adoption events with me. Although who can complain when you get to hang out with dogs all afternoon or when you can play with kittens in between work calls?! If there’s one good thing to come out of the pandemic, it’s the fact that so many people wanted to open up their home to a four legged friend. Helping all of these dogs (and kitties) find their homes over the past year has warmed my heart and I can’t wait until we can get back to our normal adoption events so that I can meet even more of these dogs (and people) in person!