Volunteer Spotlight

February 2016: The Hoches

The day Ashley, our Rescue Coordinator, and Alana, our Volunteer Coordinator, met and talked with Shawn and (a very pregnant) Jaclyn about fostering was one of those moments when after chatting with them we practically high fived each other! We knew instantly they were going to be incredible volunteers and fosters and we felt really lucky they wanted to give their time to TRD. These guys have been incredibly supportive of our rescue work. They foster just about any dog we need to place, they consistently come to our adoption events to help out, they support our fundraisers and they are always willing to lend a hand with anything else we need. The best part is, besides being awesome advocates for rescue and rock solid fosters/volunteers, they are just really fun to hang out with. Shawn and Jaclyn are down to earth, kind, funny and they come with a super cute 9 month old baby too! Seth, a dog lover already, hangs out with us at adoption events, sometimes sleeping, but most of the time smiling and looking adorable.
Shawn grew up in Sloatsbrug, NY (45 min outside NYC) and Jackie grew up in Milton, WA (45 min south of Seattle). They are both Navy helicopter pilots and have lived in Annapolis, MD, Pensacola, FL, Milton, FL, and Chesapeake, VA, prior to moving to San Diego. Shawn and Jaclyn both grew up with dogs and now have 2 dogs of their own. Shawn’s first dog in childhood was named Rocket (he’s admittedly a NASA nerd) and the first dog he and Jackie adopted, a black lab in 2008, they named Apollo (yes, after the Apollo missions). They then adopted their hound mix, Hunter—or should we say Apollo adopted Hunter. Hunter’s foster family with the Humane Society in Pensacola said Shawn and Jackie had to adopt him after seeing how the dogs immediately played and bonded so well- instant bros. After adopting Hunter and seeing the foster experience firsthand, they knew it was something they had to eventually become involved with. They started fostering with K-Nine Justice League in Norfolk, VA and were hooked.
As of today, their 23rd foster just recently found her forever home!! Another tidbit that adds to their awesome factor? Shawn and Jaclyn have a “foster wall” where pictures of every foster they’ve had adorn their wall so they can be reminded of all the dog love that happens in their house. We asked the Hochs their thoughts on rescue and pet overpopulation and they said, “it seems that rescues (especially foster-based organizations) are still such a foreign idea to most people. The number of people we’ve spoken with that are shocked and surprised when we explain what we do is staggering. We appreciate the opportunity to educate people about rescue. For us, our view on fostering/rescuing, especially when people ask us how we let the dogs go when they get adopted, is that our ability to get one dog out of the shelter opens up a spot that will save an incalculable number of lives. Dog overpopulation will never go away until laws are passed to shut down puppy mills, people who do not properly care for their animals are held accountable, and the public is truly educated about the issues including spaying and neutering.” They continue to claim that they will never “foster fail” (adopting a foster) to ensure the spot for a dog in need stays open. Although they have admitted coming very close to foster failing with their foster, Finn.
Shawn and Jaclyn look forward to continuing volunteering and fostering with TRD to help make a difference in all the lives we save. They are true advocates for rescue, are amazing volunteers/fosters, and are wonderful people with hearts of gold. We could not be happier to have them in the TRD family. Thank you Shawn and Jaclyn for all you do!

January 2015: Ramey Murphy

Just over a year ago Ramey came on board with The Rescued Dog as our Foster Coordinator. As a foster based rescue there are a lot of moving parts. Keeping in touch with all of our foster families about how the dogs are doing, finding fosters for incoming dogs, and organizing temporary fosters for vacationing fosters is no small feat! Ramey keeps all of these balls in the air and just when we think we are in a bind, she usually sends out an email that says, “It’s taken care of.” Sometimes we aren’t quite sure what kind of magic she’s working, but we are sure glad she keeps the wheels turning! Ramey puts in some serious volunteer time with TRD and she is amazing at what she does.

Ramey was raised in Kansas with dogs all her life. Growing up, her parents, ahead of their time, always rescued their dogs from local shelters. One particular rescue dog, a Pitbull named Ringer, saved her baby brother from drowning after he fell into the pool! A real life “Lassie”, he also alerted their family to a house fire by waking them up. Ramey and her family have always had deep connections with their canine family members and were able to save and provide homes for needy pups. In recent years, Ramey and her husband Bob (also an awesome volunteer with TRD), have been the lucky parents to a beagle named Zoe and Max, a cocker spaniel, that both passed away in 2014. Today, Blueberry the Chihuahua and Sassy the Pug, ages 12 and 13 and their long term foster, Quip also a Chihuahua, grace the couches of their loving home. Ramey and Bob are some of the best doggie parents we know, spoiling the heck out of their cute little senior dog family. Along with their dog brood, Ramey and Bob (married for 23 years!) have 2 sons in their twenties living in the Midwest.

Ramey is a huge advocate for raising kids with dogs and has seen firsthand how this incredible bond is so rewarding for children. She believes the importance of teaching responsible pet ownership from an early age is paramount to helping to solve the pet overpopulation problem. Education about spaying and neutering is the first step. Ramey also thinks we (as rescues and advocates) need to help lift the stigma that shelter animals are problem animals. Educating the public, along with streamlining the adoption process to be welcoming and supportive is important to Ramey and exactly what we here at TRD strive to do.

Ramey’s passion, dedication, and love for rescue animals not only makes her an awesome person in general, but also a huge asset to TRD. Our foster families, foster dogs and all of us here at TRD are incredibly lucky to have Ramey. Thank you, Ramey, for all your hard work in keeping our foster program running so smoothly!

December 2015: Tyler Oliveros

This particular volunteer spotlight is bitter sweet for us. Our rock solid foster, Tyler, is moving! We just had to recognize him before he ventures off on his new adventure and let all our supporters know how lucky we are to have had him on our team for this past year.

Tyler has been fostering with us since Jan 2015 and has had 8 fosters (Beatrice, Finnegan, Jade, Kate, Buster, Rocco, Mandi, & Annie!), along with a several others that have crashed at his house for weekends here and there (Ella, Roxie &Trixie to name a few). We’ve been able to rely on Tyler to take any dog that needed a place; both large and small, he’s opened his house and heart up to all pups. Not only does he take great care of his fosters, he also supports TRD in general—he’s always willing to hang at an adoption event, talk to potential adopters about his foster, do play dates in the adoption process and attend our fundraisers.

Along with being a great foster, we think Tyler is a great guy in general. He graduated from the Naval Academy in Annapolis MD in 2009 and was stationed in Hawaii and Virginia before spending the last two years here in San Diego. In his free time he plays soccer and tennis, cooks and sails with the Team Fiasco Sailing Team and of course spends time with his foster dogs. Tyler also volunteers at the North Park Library helping kids with their homework twice a week. It’s no wonder he’s been such a dependable, kind, supportive, awesome foster for TRD! Tyler is moving back to a little town in Pennsylvania, where he grew up and his parents still live.

Tyler started fostering because he grew up with dogs and always enjoyed that companionship but didn’t feel that he could make a ten year+ commitment at this time in his life, so he decided that fostering was the best of both worlds. His favorite thing about fostering is watching the dogs grow—“A lot of the dogs we get have had a hard time, and affection is meaningful to them; they can be very timid at first but watching them open up and trust me more and more is very rewarding.” We are certain that all the foster dogs placed with Tyler were very lucky dogs; we have no doubt he was crucial in their transition out of the shelter and into family life and love.

TRD wishes him the best of luck and we know the next dog rescue he works with is going to be one lucky rescue!! We feel so fortunate to have had his support this year, he will be missed greatly!

All the best to you, Tyler! Thank you for all you’ve done for TRD!

November 2015: Brittney Mazzone

Let us introduce you to one of our amazing Adoption Coordinators, Brittney! We aren’t even sure where to begin there are so many great things to say about her. We’ll start by mentioning her huge heart! Brittney has a big heart for helping to save shelter dogs. Her selfless giving nature is also apparent in her job as well as in her future ambition to help both animals and people together wither own nonprofit that is in the works.

Brittney grew up on Long Island, NY and moved here in 2013 for her job. She is a research physical therapist at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego where she does research with service members with amputation(s) and/or bad leg fractures. Brittney decided to foster a dog with us back in February when her boyfriend was away on a training exercise. Brittney saw how much work goes into running a rescue; saving dogs and finding forever homes for them. Brittney immediately noticed how much all of our volunteers put into TRD, so she asked how she could help and get more involved. Well, we knew right away she was a good egg—so we, well… we had her to jump right into the adoption coordinator position! She may not have realized just how involved she would get, but she doesn’t regret any of it. She definitely has what it takes to find our dogs the most amazing homes. We are humbled and so appreciative of the amount of time she has given to TRD and the dogs.

Brittney has grown up with dogs all her life, always having a few in the house. She’s joked that her mom, aunt and entire family are all dog crazy! Her own dog now, Otis a 3 year old mutt (Jack Russell, chi, doxie-?), was a rescue dog as well. She was told he didn’t have a great temperament and may never be an affectionate smuggler. Otis blossomed with Brittney and is definitely a snuggler now (evidenced by sleeping under the covers with her!). Brittney lives with her boyfriend, who also supports TRD, and his dog, TRD alumni, Ned. Although she’s incredibly busy and doesn’t have much free time these days, her hobbies include running, hiking and camping (all with her dog of course). Brittney isn’t just stopping at helping TRD to save dogs either. She and her mom are in the beginning stages of creating their own nonprofit organization that will help train rescued dogs as service dogs for wounded veterans. Now that is a huge heart!!

Brittney has had a direct hand in the number of dogs we were able to save and place this past year. Her favorite part? “Seeing the excitement on a family’s face when they meet and fall in love with their new dog.” We are incredibly lucky to have her on our team. Thank you Brittney for all you do for The Rescued Dog! You are pivotal to our success!

October 2015: Lihini Aluwihare

Lihini is one of The Rescued Dog’s most amazing, dedicated foster moms. All of our foster families are wonderful, they are all saving lives after all, but Lihini and her foster pup Cassie stand out. Often times our dogs roll right through TRD: they are saved, they go to a foster home, and they get adopted. Most of the time this happens relatively quickly, averaging 3-8 weeks in a foster home. However, every now and then we get a medical case unbeknownst to us and quite often we have to share this load, moving a pup from one foster home to another based on what’s best for their care, what the foster can provide, vet appointment transportation etc. Cassie initially came to us with psychological issues involving fear, but shortly after getting her Lihini noticed a limp. Cassie had an old injury and she had surgery in an attempt to fix it. Her recovery consisted of casting, rest, vet appointments, re-casting, more rest, and more vet appointments. Lihini brought her to the vet every 10 days for a good portion of her foster life! When it was clear the surgery had not helped the way we’d all hoped, Cassie had her leg amputated. Now happier, more mobile and not in pain any longer she’s a happier girl but also still healing from those old psychological scars in the safety of Lihini’s home. After 5 months of surgeries and recoveries we think Cassie hit the jackpot to have Lihini as her foster mom. Lihini stuck this out with Cassie, she’s been there for her since day one, seeing her through her long medical road. We don’t come by this type of love and dedication every day and we know this is what has helped and continues to help Cassie heal.

Lihini is a professor of chemical oceanography at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography/UCSD. (Wow) Having known Ashley from grad school, Lihini first fostered with us after losing her 13 year old dog. She ended up adopting her first foster 5 days in! She now has 2 rescue dogs of her own and a 6 year old human child along with Cassie her foster dog! We’d say she’s pretty darn dedicated (and busy….and probably a bit tired!) Lihini is no rookie to rescue—her previous dogs have been rescues, and she recently lost her rescued cat. When she visits Sri Lanka she is constantly attempting to bring stray dogs home to her cousins, and she’s succeeded on a few occasions—they all have a street dog of some type.

When I asked her what she loves about Cassie, she had a beautiful response: “I remember as a kid I read a story (or was told a story) about a dog that sat on his master’s grave for days or weeks (I don’t remember). I think of Cassie as that dog. I have had many dogs and they have been loyal in their own way but Cassie is special that way. She is so attuned to me, chosen me as her person (for the moment) and is extremely faithful. She will be that way with the next person that is willing to be patient with her.”

Lihini, we are so very thankful for you. We are thankful for the time, love, and patience you have given to Cassie; we could not have asked for a better foster for our special girl! Thank you!

September 2015: Bobbi Ames

The Rescued Dog is very, very lucky to have Bobbi. Bobbi is a long time, avid foster that jumps in whenever we need her. She has helped us out in a pinch many a time—and most of these times it’s for fostering puppies! She’s taken on pregnant mommas directly from the shelter and fostered them the entire time; from pregnancy, birth, to 8 weeks. Bobbi is one of those solid volunteers that we rely on; there are several dogs that would not have been able to be saved without her in our corner.

So what’s the driving force for Bobbi’s volunteerism and love for animals? She grew up on a farm in upstate New York where her passion for animals began. She had cows, pigs, chickens, a few barn cats, and of course a dog or two running around. Dobermans and Labradors were the common breeds in her childhood. Bobbi’s very first job was at a dog boarding facility. She also worked at pet stores, was in 4H, and pet sat for neighbors. In 2002 Bobbi went to vet tech school and worked as a tech for several years. At her favorite vet hospital, located in a Humane Society in Boulder Colorado, she started learning about the shelter process, and thus began her overwhelming desire to help.

Bobbi is a big believer in giving back to your community, finding something that inspires you and making a difference. When I asked Bobbi what keeps her coming back for more fosters? – She answered, “I believe I can make a difference. I think if everyone took responsibility we could really get this over population problem under control. So I try really hard to move forward and active without getting overwhelmed and burnt out.” Her biggest reward? “Happiness, and that happens when we match the right dog with the right family.”

Currently in her home (besides her adorable kids), all her animals are fosters—one puppy and 2 kittens from a cat rescue she also works with. Bobbi is on foster #14!!

From the bottom of our hearts, Bobbi, thank you so very much for being a part of the TRD team.

August 2015: Ashley Corrigan

This month we are taking our Volunteer Spotlight right down to the nuts and bolts of The Rescued Dog. Completely run by volunteers, TRD has an incredible team that does a great deal of work, spending a lot of time on rescue related needs. This includes numerous people that spend countless hours in areas of foster coordination, events and fundraising, writing (blogs, education, grants etc.), coordinating donations, managing volunteers/needs, coordinating adoptions, financial/legal, marketing, database management and much, much more! All these “jobs” are dependent on TRD saving awesome dogs out of high risk shelters to be adopted. Here’s where our own TRD Co-founder and Rescue Coordinator, Ashley, comes in.

Ashley’s animal connection began while growing up on a farm in MN and she has a long history helping shelter animals. She started volunteering at a Humane Society in St. Cloud, MN when she was 14. At 16, she requested dog and cat food for birthday presents and donated over a 1,000lbs to the humane society! After moving to San Diego she found herself at a shelter in Devore trying to adopt a sick dog and seeing firsthand the incredible need for help in this overcrowded, high kill shelter. While talking to a rescue networker, she found out transporting animals was the biggest need. Transporters: people who willingly load their car to the brim with dogs/cats/rabbits (even the occasional chicken) and hit the road to various rescue groups. It was then Ashley and her Prius began the journey of rescue work. She’s had as many as 17 dogs each in their own crate packed into that Prius! Coined the “Prius of Freedom”, more than 50,000 miles have been put on her car saving and transporting dogs since 2010.

Ashley and her partners started The Rescued Dog because they knew they could do rescue differently. Dogs need to be in foster homes where they learn house manners, security and love. This prepares them for an easier transition to their forever home. When dogs are kenneled, shelters and rescues have dogs returned frequently for house training, owner guarding, separation anxiety, etc. – all behaviors not easily identified in a kennel setting. Foster homes provide the opportunity to target these behaviors and provide additional training when encountered. The crew at TRD are always amazed by Ashley’s super powers to pull awesome dogs. She has an incredible intuition and knowledge and we trust her judgment completely when pulling dogs for the rescue. She and her husband, Fernando, a dog trainer himself, have spent a great deal of time learning and teaching dog behavior. We lean on Ashley all the time for her incredible assessments, information and advice on all of our TRD dogs. She is TRD’s very own “Dog Whisperer”.

We, at TRD, know Ashley puts in A TON of hours to the rescue. She’s either driving to shelters to get dogs, driving around San Diego to vaccinate our dogs, coordinating with vets for our medical cases, emails/admin tasks, coaching foster families with their new dogs, coordinating with shelters to get more dogs and training her own foster dogs …she is always working for the dogs we just saved and the ones we are about to save. When asked about how many hours per week she devotes to TRD work she said, “I don’t think I should answer this question… it’s a large number! Way more than my ‘real job’.” When asked the most rewarding part of rescue she says it’s by far the updates we get from our amazing adopters. One word that describes the feeling of rescue work for Ashley? Hope.

The long term goal for Ashley is to get back to living on some land and run The Rescued Dog’s Sanctuary someday —it would allow her (and the dogs) the time and space to work with dogs needing advanced training. Ashley’s partners and rescue friends cannot say enough about her commitment and dedication to rescue work.

“Ashley is the driving force behind our organization. Her super power is pulling great dogs. She seems to know instinctually which dogs are great, and which ones are diamonds in the rough. Of course it’s not instinct entirely. She puts a lot of time and effort into understanding dog behavior, and she puts an equal amount of time cultivating the relationships we have with shelter managers and leaders. In turn, her shelter connections help us save our dogs. I think we can all agree that Ashley’s work on behalf of TRD is a large part of why we have been so successful. We really couldn’t do it without her.” ~Katie Michelmore Co-Founder of The Rescued Dog

“I met Ashley a year ago when she first came to the Humane Society of Imperial County to start pulling our dogs. She has been so supportive of our tiny little shelter. She’ll take our hard medical cases and she’s always there to lend a helping hand. We are truly blessed to have Ashley in our corner; she has driven down to help take pictures of animals, she has brought us food when needed and she has helped us do our very first adoption event in San Diego. We love Ashley and all of The Rescued Dog’s team, we wouldn’t be saving so many lives without Ashley’s help and support.“ ~Mikey Garcia, Networker/Rescue Coordinator for Humane Society of Imperial County

“Ashley is the backbone of TRD. The amount of work she puts into this rescue is incredible— her commitment, work and passion for rescued dogs is amazing. Someday I will sew her a Superhero Dog Temperament Tester cape!! She’s awesome and I’m so happy I get to work with her.” ~Alana Lawler Volunteer Coordinator for The Rescued Dog

July 2015: Mika Manzo & Family

Mika has been a foster extraordinaire for The Rescued Dog! She’s coming up on her year anniversary volunteering with us and has fostered over 10 dogs in that time. We count on her quite often to take various breeds of the smaller guys, and she’s always up for the challenge. Mika got into fostering after her beloved cat died after 17 years and they moved into a new place with a yard. Her kids were a bit scared of dogs so she wasn’t sure if it was the right time to adopt; instead she gave fostering a go. This turned out to be the best decision—her kids have gotten lots of experience with dogs and are now walkers, cuddlers and helpers to all their fosters. Recently, the Manzo family foster failed (as most TRD team members have!). Pixie was the only dog their cat openly welcomed and although, she says it wasn’t the dog her husband had in mind for their family dog, he was the one who suggested keeping Pixie! We love these stories; when a dog takes someone by surprise and they fall in love with what wouldn’t be their “ideal dog”. Another reason fostering is so wonderful—experience with all types and sizes—you never know who you’ll fall in love with.

Mika was born in Japan, grew up in San Diego and spent 10 years living in Hawaii. She has always loved animals; in the past she’s worked in an animal hospital and spent time pet sitting. With two kids, fostering and all her hobbies- Mika’s a busy woman. When she’s outside, she’s at the beach bodysurfing or training for a half marathon. When she’s inside she’s crafting and sewing; all in between training foster dogs and being a mom! Mika has recently submersed herself in another hobby- photography. Some of the beautiful pictures you see of our rescue dogs on our site are Mika’s photos.

We are so thankful for Mika and her family for taking on this foster role. A couple stand out dogs she’s had? Captain Hook was one of their favorites, providing a lesson to her family that a dog with a disability can still have an amazing fulfilling life. Her other favs were Donny and Dolly whom she fostered together. Her family loved watching these two bond and go to their forever family together!

Thank you Mika and family for being such a wonderful foster family for so many TRD dogs. We are so grateful! This is an example of how fostering can change lives—the lives of the foster families who learn and grow from such enriching experiences, the lives of the dogs who are saved and learn trust and love in their foster homes, and the lives of future forever families who are waiting to connect and fall in love with that special dog.

June 2015: Dani Ramos

Remember the 7 Harry Potter Puppies??—it was Dani who fostered them (for a total of 9 dogs in her house!). Dani had previously been fostering/volunteering with the San Diego Humane Society and when they didn’t have many opportunities for her, she decided to foster with TRD—and boy are we happy she did. Since then, she’s been an amazing volunteer and foster. Dani is one of those volunteers that just always seems to help, whether she’s organizing what feels like 1 million puppy applications, taking on a new foster, dog sitting another foster, or attending adoption events, she’s seriously everywhere!

Dani is a born and raised SoCal girl from her love of the ocean to San Diego’s sports teams. She worked 2 jobs for many years, raised her two girls as a single mom (also amazing volunteers with TRD) and took care of her mother for the last five years of her life. Dani knows hard work and what’s important in life. Now that she has some time for herself, she’s using it to save dogs— it’s obviously her passion.

Dani’s own dog, Mikki, part blue heeler who was found as a stray puppy in southeast SD, is very protective of her people and always needs to keep her eyes on the girls. Through all the hard times she was right there by Dani’s side. The Rescued Dog is so very grateful we’ve got such a dedicated, wonderful volunteer that is willing to give so much for dogs. Thank you, Dani!

We asked Dani some fun facts about her… here is what she had to say:

• I’m a tree hugger! (She’s not alone)
• I think bottled water is a plague on the planet (agreed)
• I am terrified of clowns (good to know!)
• I ran a half-marathon (Way to go!)
• I crochet (Did you say you crochet doggie sweaters??)
• I’m manic about organization and lists (We especially love this…knowing our adoption applications are in good hands!)