by Jenay Pressly | Feb 14, 2019 | Blog, PAWesome People |
“Jackie has been a solid and continuous foster with DPA for years now. Her ramp up period was quick and she has not slowed down since. I can’t remember the last time that Jackie did not have at least one DPA foster animal in her home – you would never know though since she treats each foster like her own. She does not shy away from any medical or behavioral cases and has a strong love for the power breeds that are usually overlooked in the shelter. She has formed strong relationships not only with the animals but with other DPA volunteers. Whoever you ask will tell you that she is one of the biggest animal lovers and pours her heart into making their world a better and safer place. Jackie currently has a foster that has required a lot of training, modifications and exercise. Although this sort of dedication can scare many off, Jackie has been extremely receptive to changing up her routine to fit her foster’s needs, opened up to training advice and loved her foster animal so much that you would never know she wasn’t a part of the Hunter family. As her foster representative said so perfectly – ‘Jackie has a heart of gold and we are so lucky to have her as a part of Dallas Pets Alive.’” Stefanie Steiner, DPA!’s Foster Director How did you get involved with Fostering with DPA? I wasn’t working at the time and I had always wanted to foster; the timing could not have been better. Tell us about a few of your fosters. They’ve literally all...
by Jenay Pressly | Feb 14, 2019 | Blog, PAWesome People, Uncategorized |
“I have been working with Courtney on the Positive Alternatives to Shelter Surrender (PASS) team for almost a year. She volunteers at Dallas Animal Shelter (DAS), working to prevent shelter surrenders. She is always reliable, volunteers regularly, and has such a positive outlook on an often challenging volunteer role. Courtney is also an awesome foster mama for DPA. Courtney recently stepped into a larger volunteer role partnering with the Rescue Team. In this role she gathers information on animals surrendered through PASS, and quickly shares their information to the Dogs in Need album for our foster network. Unlike strays, owner surrenders have no hold period at the shelter, therefore this role is important for getting information out on surrendered animals to our network as quick as possible so that our DPA fosters can help save more lives. Courtney, thank you so much for all you do for DPA – we appreciate your life saving work and we are so glad to have you on the team!!” -Andra Adams, DPA!’s PASS Director What is your current role? PASS Liaison, Foster Mom, and PASS onsite volunteer How did you get involved with volunteering at DPA? My friends Alyssa and Caroline have been involved for awhile. I saw Alyssa foster a fearful dog and within a month she was a whole new dog. I wanted to be a part of that change for other animals. What are you most passionate about at DPA? I have a special place for scared and shut down animals. With a little love and stability, their transformations have been amazing! Many of those dogs don’t “show well”...
by Jenay Pressly | Jan 24, 2019 | Blog, PAWesome People |
“Kate is an amazing, dedicated and resilient foster for DPA! She’s most recently tagged a beautiful litter of kittens – the Graphics Crew – and despite lots of quick adoption interest, she’s had to juggle many vet appointments, medication schedules and cleanup to get these babies healthy and ready for their new homes. On top of that, she and her family agreed to temp foster for Bob Marley – a super sweet darling who needed to have his tail amputated, and then was quickly diagnosed with Panleuk (equivalent of Parvo in pups). He’s not out of the woods yet, but she’s documenting his treatment and recovery. Through everything, she has gone above and beyond for these furry babies – sharing the good, the bad and the ugly of what it really means to foster – all with grace and positivity. Kate’s amazing husband and kids are committed right alongside her to loving these babes, and getting them healthy for forever homes – embodying the meaning of being foster parents!” -Caitlin Gilbert, DPA!’s Feline Assistant Foster Director It is clear that Kate Miller embodies everything it takes and more as a foster. Read more about her below: How did you get involved with Fostering with DPA? After hurricane Harvey we heard the shelters needed to make room for incoming animals. We found Dallas Pets Alive! and fostered our first dog, Red. Tell us about a few of your fosters. Red was our very first and one of my favorites. He was so shut down and terrified, he made so much progress with us! Seeing what our family could do to...
by Jenay Pressly | Jan 22, 2019 | Blog, PAWesome People |
“Hannah has been volunteering on the rescue team for over a year and has been incredibly helpful in meeting shelter pups and getting evaluations and dog tests done, as well as on-boarding new volunteers. She has helped us save many lives by always taking great pictures and sharing lots of insightful information. Being a foster herself, Hannah knows exactly what our fosters are looking for and can speak to their concerns. She has always been positive, eloquent, reliable, and is a joy to work with. Not only does she help on the rescue team and fosters herself, but she also volunteers on DPA’s adoption team, is a foster representative, helps DPA write grants AND has recruited her friends to volunteer for DPA as well. I’m so thankful for everything she does to help us save lives!” –Elina K DeVos DPA!’s Rescue Director That’s some of the many reasons why Hannah Koski is a DPA Pawsome Person! Learn more about her below: What is your current role? Currently, I volunteer on the adoptions team managing the Friday adoptline, on the rescue team doing dog evaluations at DAS, on the foster team as a foster representative, on the grant team as the grants coordinator and a writer, and my husband and I foster through DPA. We’re currently very lucky to be fostering the adorable “Daisie the Itty Pitty Pocket Pitty Princess”, and folks can follow her adventures on Instagram at @houskifosters! How did you get involved with volunteering at DPA? About a year after adopting my first dog, a Boxer-mix named Millie, I felt so grateful to have her in my...
by Jenay Pressly | Jan 22, 2019 | Blog, Leadership Spotlight, PAWesome People |
“Mourad is constantly thinking of new and innovative ways to improve the Volunteer Team, including opportunities for his team to bond as a unit and brainstorm solutions together. This is all that much more impressive considering he lives halfway around the world and has never met any of us in person!” -Alyssa Gross DPA!’s Administration Vice President That’s just the start why Mourad Blokpoel is a DPA Pawsome Person! Learn more about him below: What does your role within DPA involve? What do you oversee within the organization? I’m currently the Assistant Director of Onboarding, so I track the onboarding of the incoming volunteers that join DPA and work with the Volunteer Coordinators to bring in the people to help DPA with achieving our mission of making Dallas no-kill. I have calls, and give trainings over the phone and via virtual meeting rooms. The fun part is that you get to talk with people that share the same interests which includes to improve the animal welfare in Dallas. What is your professional background? I am currently studying for my Bachelor of Business Administration in Human Resource Management. Next to that, for about a year and a half now, I have worked for an employment agency as an Assistant Recruiter. I make a lot of phone calls, fill shifts and so on. I am also a Translator and Community Moderator for an avatar-based social media platform, which means that I translate their apps and web pages from English to Dutch. I host online contests and events to increase the community engagement and of course post translated announcements and answer and...
by Jenay Pressly | Dec 30, 2018 | Blog, Leadership Spotlight, PAWesome People |
“Allison is always at the ready to step up and share DPA’s story in creative and innovative ways. Although she does not live in Texas her love of DPA and our mission cannot be missed even all the way from the East Coast. Allison is key when it comes to streamlining and organization our marketing plan and voice. I am so grateful to have her on our team, she plays a pivotal role in ensuring our rescue animals are able to be heard and seen!” – Leslie Sans DPA!’s Executive Director That’s why Allison Treloar is a DPA Pawsome Person! Learn more about her below: What does your role within Dallas Pets Alive! involve? What do you oversee within the organization? As Marketing Director, I’m responsible for promoting Dallas Pets Alive! and our adoptable pets through our various communication channels. This includes working with a talented team of volunteers to keep our website updated with new content; strategizing ways to showcase our adoptable animals on social media and through adoption promotions; creating fundraisers and appeals for our pets’ emergency medical needs; educating potential fosters, volunteers, and donors about the amazing work DPA does; and so much more! What is your professional background? I’ve worked in different areas of marketing throughout my entire professional career, in a diverse group of organizations and industries. It’s a privilege to be able to use my experience and skills to support Dallas Pets Alive’s mission and help find loving, forever homes for Dallas’ shelter pets. How long have you been involved with the organization? I’m coming up on my one-year anniversary with DPA! I am...
