Hello lovely Facebook friends, and welcome to my fundraiser, where you can send love and encouragement to a shelter pet in just a few quick clicks and a donation!

As some of you know me from way back when, I have always wanted to work with animals and got my start in the shelter community at the SF SPCA where I worked with both cats and dogs. Then onto Guide Dogs for the Blind, then hopped over to the private sector helping dogs and cats stay in their homes - petsitting, dog walking and most recently had my own dog training business.

Throughout the years I always had a moment every day where I thought, holy moly, I’m getting paid to snuggle and play with cats and dogs!! Although I will confess for the last several years I felt a little something was missing…

And a little over 4 years ago I got the opportunity to find that missing piece here at the SPCA in Monterey County. Getting back to my animal shelter roots working with animals, mostly dogs, but some cats too, helping them work through the challenges of being in a shelter has truly filled my heart with joy.

Okay okay, it’s not ALL rainbows and unicorns but I am so grateful to everyone here allowing me to continue to learn and grow and play my part here in the Behavior Department, helping get the animals ready for their forever homes.

And right now all of the departments here are participating in a friendly FUNdraiser competition culminating in A Day of Giving on March 19th.

For my fundraising endeavor I decided to create a new holiday, “Enrich A Shelter Pet’s Life Day!”

As you can imagine, when an animal first arrives at a shelter there’s gonna be some stress involved. So we give them “enrichment” items. This could be in the form of food dispensing puzzles like Kongs that give enrichment not only through tasty treats but encourages the animals to use their smarts to figure out how to get at those tasty treats. It can be a fun activity that brings their stress level down and helps them decompress. And that makes it a lot easier to make a great adoption match!

So I invite you to help me celebrate “Enrich A Shelter Pet’s Life Day!”

For every dollar you donate I will give a dog or cat an enrichment item to help lower their stress level and get to their forever home that much faster! Sending you my gratitude and hugs for any amount you’d like to give!