Years ago, I left corporate America to pursue my passion to help animals.  I didn’t really have a plan.  I just knew that I had more to offer to a field that really meant something to my heart and soul.
I began volunteering at Safe Haven, a wildlife refuge.  I nursed orphaned squirrels and possums back to health.  I fed cougars and fox and bobcats who were unable to return to the wild.  Animals who were found at roadside zoos, in homes of hoarders, or even just by kind people who thought feeding a baby cougar was the right thing to do.

Safe Haven grew and moved to Nevada leaving me to look for a new place to call home.  I cautiously made my way to the local county animal control.  Afraid of the realities I would find, knowing euthanasia at a municipal shelter was nearly a guarantee, I filled out the application and within six months of volunteering, I was employed and working nearly every day.

I loved it.  Well, at least 90% of it.  Saving animals, caring for animals, adopting animals were what my dreams were made of.  But, in time, I found I could no longer be witness to actions that mortified me or politics that interferred with the well-being of an innocent animal.   Ninety percent of my job was a dream come true, the other 10% was pure nightmare.  I left.

Chasing my dream, I became a Web Writer for an international animal welfare organization, Best Friends Animal Society.  Famous for the rescuing of Michael Vick’s pit bulls.  It was there I found myself on assignment at a puppy mill auction.

The last years have been a whirlwind.  Writing the book and maintaining my involvement in varying animal welfare causes have kept me busy.  I have been employed as a reporter for a local paper and a contributor to many animal welfare organizations through reporting and blogging. 

Today, I am proud to be a volunteer for Bailing Out Benji.  A complete grassroots organization that started in Ames, IA has become a national leader in educating consumers on the truths about pet stores and puppy mills.  I continue to maintain my relationships with the original puppy mill rescuers in Wisconsin.

My dream for animal welfare won’t be realized until pet stores no longer sell puppies and every dog has a loving home.