And They're Off...
May 22 - May 27, 2010
Thanks to the Animal Planet ROAR Campaign, the Petfinder.com Foundation received a $25,000 grant which we awarded to Petfinder.com Member Animal-Lifeline. With these funds a mix students and professionals will travel to Braxton, Clay and Ritchie Counties in West Virginia to provide shelter repair, training, and finally the transport of approximately 35 adoptable dogs.
Meet the Animal Lifeline team below and follow their trip live on the Petfinder.com blog.
Animal Lifeline Volunteers
Angela Butler - Angela graduated from Delaware Valley College with a Bachelors of Science in Animal Science in 2007. She resides in Bucks County Pennsylvania with her boyfriend, dogs, cats, chickens, and horse. Shortly after graduation she went to work for Doylestown Animal Medical Clinic as a Small Animal Technician. While there her interest in Animal Nutrition was sparked.
Since then she has done a considerable amount of personal research in the field of animal nutrition, has worked with Hillđs Pet Nutrition to write two nutritional handouts for clients and has since become the "go to person" for questions regarding pet food at the clinic.
Zach Baker - Zach is currently a full-time student at Delaware Valley College, majoring in Business Administration having just completely his Junior year. He is a carpenter’s apprentice for his step-father, whose business has a focus on stairs and railings but also does general contracting in a number of different fields. Zach hopes one day to become the owner of his own company and to continue to further his knowledge in those areas. Zach’s hobbies focus mainly on working on cars and trucks, woodworking, and photography. He has always been close with animals, and currently his family has a German Shepherd mix that was recently adopted with the help of Animal Lifeline (Balto!).
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Denise Bash - Denise Bash is the Founder and president of Animal Lifeline. Her passion to save the lives of companion animals was the key factor in the development of the Animal Lifeline Outreach Program. After being involved with rescue for five years, Denise decided to start an organization to raise funds for the rescues and shelters that save animal lives every day. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” This Margaret Mead quote is the mantra for members of this very dedicated organization. Denise and her band of volunteers are committed to changing outcomes for animals by empowering the individuals that care for them. Supplying food, transport services, education, medication, professional training, and animal care supplies to some of the most impoverished areas in the country has created several lasting adoption and spay/neuter programs in areas that were desperate for help.
When not running outreach programming, Denise leads the management team at the Animal Lifeline Thrift Shop in Warrington, Pennsylvania, about an hour outside of Philadelphia. Income generated at the volunteer-run store allows Animal Lifeline to continue its life-saving efforts, and provides a day-to-day place for the public to become familiar with the group’s efforts and services they provide.
The fantastic growth of Animal Lifeline doesn’t allow for a regular schedule and often follows Denise home to the busy household she shares with her husband, two children, three dogs, one cat, and endless foster furry friends. Denise’s dream is to continue to open more thrift stores that are dedicated to generating income needed to provide critically needed spay and neuter services across the country, and to move Animal Lifeline Clubs onto additional college campuses to continue to educate the advocates of tomorrow and empower them with the ability to help the cause today.
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Emily Bobal - My name is Emily Bobal and I am a from Hamilton, NJ. I will be a sophomore at DelVal majoring in Conservation and Wildlife Management. My future career goals are to become a vet or a marine biologist.
Kim Bergen - Hi, my name is Kim Bergen and I am entering my senior year at Delaware Valley College. I am currently pursuing a degree in Animal Science with a specialization in Equine Science as well as a minor in Biology. At Del Val I am the secretary of Sigma Alpha, the secretary of the Western Equestrian Team, a member of Dressage Team, Block and Bridle and Delta Tau Alpha Honor Society. After Del Val I hope to go on to either veterinary school or graduate school to pursue a PhD in microbiology/pathology.
Gary Cooper - Gary is a junior, going to be a senior. He is a criminal justice major. When he graduates he wants to become a New Jersey state trooper. He think that going to West Virginia will be beneficial because volunteering is so important and it will also look good on his resume in the future.
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Jen Daley - Jen started in helping shelter dogs by volunteering at her local humane society for a few years. Once Katrina occurred she became the transport coordinator for the Human Society of Louisiana and help them place several hundred dogs with out of state rescues during the aftermath. She then made the transition to a local rescue group and learned the rescue ropes eventually handling intake, and transport from rural shelters to rescues in the Northeast. She also managed several of the groups operational aspects by handling foster homes and adoptions. Wanting to do more on a national level with shelter outreach and transport she joined Animal Lifeline in early 2008 to run the rescue, transport and adoption programs for Animal Lifeline. Over the last two years with the aid of her vast rescue connections she has helped transport and place over a thousand dogs. She really enjoys helping the rural shelters save dogs. Jen lives in York Springs PA with her husband, Dan, her daughter and best helper Grace, her four dogs, two cats and two horses. And yes all her dogs are former fosters!
Jennifer Dennis - Jennifer Dennis graduated from Delaware Valley College in May 2010. She majored in Animal Behavior, Training, and Enrichment and hopes to one day train guide dogs for the blind as a full time career. She has been a club member since Animal Lifeline Club began and has attended all three previous outreach trips. Jen served on the club's Exec team as one of the Transport Coordinators this past year and has been the club's liaison to Holiday House.
Courtney Dickinson - Courtney Dickinson will be a junior biology major at Delaware Valley College in the fall. She became involved with Animal Lifeline during the spring semester of her freshman year and fell in love with the club so much that she applied to become president of the club. She has trained for this position throughout her sophomore year and will be taking the title of president when Cassie Klein, current president of Animal Lifeline Club and mentor to Courtney, graduates. She has accompanied the club on two of the three outreach trips that have been offered at Delaware Valley College. These trips brought her to West Virginia and South Carolina.
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Bryna Donnelly - Dr. Bryna Donnelly is a professor of biology at Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. In 2007, Bryn was introduced to Animal Lifeline by a former student that had travelled to West Virginia on an outreach trip. She was immediately drawn to the prospect of teaching students how they can enrich the lives of thousands of animals with nothing more than a little hard work and perseverance. Since that initial trip, Bryn has taken students on numerous outreach trips to West Virginia and South Carolina in addition to the various shelters and animal rescue organizations they help in Pennsylvania. She is now the student outreach coordinator for Animal Lifeline, and was an integral part of setting up the first college chapter of Animal Lifeline at Delaware Valley College with the help of Valerie Rice. Her goal is to see additional college chapters established so many other organizations can benefit from the students’ help. Bryn currently lives with her boyfriend, five dogs, a cat and a gecko in East Greenville, PA.
Daria Fahrenkrug - Daria Fahrenkrug graduated from Delaware Valley College last May with a BS in Zoo Science. During her senior year of college, Daria became the founding President of Animal Lifeline Club. She has attended the majority of Animal Lifeline Club’s events and outreach programs. Her dog, Asher, is an Animal Lifeline rescue from Clay County, West Virginia. Daria's interest in animal rescue has led her to commit to a full time job working for the ASPCA in New York City. Always dedicated to the cause, Daria will be using her vacation time from work to volunteer with Animal Lifeline in West Virginia.
Sharon Fleck - Sharon is a stay at home mom who retired from the corporate world in 2001. She came to Animal Lifeline in 2009 through her connections with Bright and Beautiful Therapy Dogs and their spin off group, Roxy Readers. Initially, wanting to help and become involved, Sharon and her daughter Madison began volunteering at the Animal Lifeline Thrift Shop together when Madison was not in school. More recently, Sharon has become heavily involved in the "behind the scenes" aspect of animal rescue by serving as an adoption and outreach coordinator and most recently as development director. As such, she secured a partnership with Petsmart stores that will enable Animal Lifeline to hold Pet Adoption Days in any Petsmart store in the U.S. This not only allows Animal Lifeline to reach a broader base of people interested in rescue but this partnership results in Animal Lifeline receiving much needed donations from Petsmart for each and every adoption. Sharon resides in Doylestown, PA with her husband and daughter. They also have a greyhound, who is a rescue and a therapy dog, and two cats, both of whom are rescues.
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Laurie Frederick - Laurie Frederick oversees day-to-day operations at the Animal Lifeline Thrift Store. A volunteer for the past year and a half, Laurie was thrilled to find an opportunity which encompassed both her passion for animals and her zeal for recycling. She shares her home with her husband, son, and eight cats.
Harry Hupman - Harry Hupman will be a junior mechanical engineer major at New Mexico Tech in the fall. He became involved in Animal Lifeline when his girlfriend, Courtney Dickinson, wanted him to come on an outreach trip to West Virginia with her. He also accompanied her on an outreach trip in January to South Carolina. Although he does not have much experience with animals he likes to build and help improve their lives at shelters.
Cassie Klein - Cassie Klein has just graduated from Delaware Valley College this May with a degree in Animal Behavior, Enrichment, and Training and a minor in Equine Studies. She has been riding horses for 15 years and has always been in love with animals. Animal Lifeline Club was created in November of her junior year of college and by January she had become the club’s President, a position she held until her graduation. Cassie lives and breathes Animal Lifeline. She has attended all of the club’s outreach trips and has plans to participate in Animal Lifeline Club outreach trips in the future. She was a varsity fencer in high school, but now has a new-found passion for building and fixing fences. Her motto is “tell me I can’t and I’ll show you I can”, and she continues to surprise people with her tenacity.
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Eric Kosh - My name is Eric Kosh, and I am born and raised in Philadelphia, Pa. All my life I've been an animal lover. I've always believed strongly that animals should be treated with respect and, in some cases, as human beings. So its only right that when my girlfriend Kristine, informed me that the Animal Lifeline group she was involved with was going on an outreach trip to West Virginia, that I quickly agree to lend my help and services. Mistreated & abandoned pets deserve a second chance at a loving family.
Devon Lowry
- Devon is the Program Assistant for the Petfinder.com Foundation and
is thrilled to be accompying the Animal Lifeline team on this trip.
Devon is originally from Wilcox Arizona and is attending the University
of Arizona. Aside from his other duties on this trip Devon will be
documenting the journey by blogging for the Petfinder.com team. Devon
has two adopted kitties, CupCake and DittyBell who live with him in
Tucson.
Kasey Martini - Kasey will soon be a Junior at Delaware Valley College. I am studying at DelVal with a major in Conservation and Wildlife Management, with also a minor in Criminal Justice. I am studying under this major/minor in order to hopefully one day work for the Humane Law Enforcement. I love animals and I want to do anything I can to help them. Animal Lifeline helps make that happen!
Steve Meidahl - Steve loves dogs! Steve learned photography as a teenager growing up
in Maine, from a National Geographic photographer who enjoyed spending his summers in Steve’s hometown. Since then, Steve’s Nikon has been his best friend. He’s shot everything from Broadway shows to Beagles - he likes Beagles better.
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Dr. Lynn Myers - Dr. Lynn Myers is a native of Williamsport, PA. She decided she wanted to pursue a career in veterinary medicine at the age of 14. She attended Gettysburg College and earned a BA in chemistry in 1981, graduating with honors (Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude). She attended the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine and graduated in 1986.In 1988 Dr. Myers joined a 3 person equine practice in the Bucks/Montgomery County area. From 1988 to 1998 Dr. Myers specialized in treating performance horses.
Although Dr. Myers loved her career in equine medicine, she also always enjoyed small animals and small animal medicine. In 1998 she opted to give up equine medicine and pursue a career in small animal medicine. She has never regretted this change. She feels that this change of venue has allowed her professional life great variety and enjoyment and, in fact, went on to win the "Best of Bucks" award for veterinarian in 2005.
Janina Nickle - Janina Nickle is a December '09 graduate of Delaware Valley College with a major in Animal Behavior, Training and Enrichment. She joined the DVC Animal Lifeline Club in Spring 2009. Since then, she has served one semester as Club Secretary and participated in two previous outreach trips to South Carolina. Her access to a pickup truck makes her a very valuable member of the outreach team. She enjoys working with animals of all types and has several different pets of her own, including Little Bear, a dog from one of the outreach trips.
Devon Reith - Devon resides in Doylestown Twp. and is a 23 year old Bucks County Community College Student. Devon has also been a part-time Life Skill Instructor for Shared Support for 1.5 yrs and a part-time Carpenter Apprentice for 4 yrs. He is the owner of one bunny, and one cat, both rescues. Devon has been a volunteer for Animal Lifeline since 2009. In 2006 he helped drive a Katrina dog home to New Orleans that his family fostered, along with his mom, Rose, and a Doylestown Twp Police officer, Shaun Magee to reunite with the owner.
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Rose Reith - Rose resides in Doylestown Twp.and is the married mother of two. She has been a crossing guard for Doylestown Twp Police Dept for 19 yrs. and an Avon representative for 36 yrs. She is the owner of one chow-chow, 1 Himalayan, and 3 Persian cats- all rescues except one. Rose is also an emergency canine and feline foster mom and thrift shop volunteer for Animal Lifeline since 2009. In 2005, she fostered a Katrina dog for Last Chance Ranch and with the help of Stealth Volunteers, Rose was able to locate the owner on the internet. In 2006, after 10 months of separation, Rose’s son, Devon, a Doylestown Twp Police officer and co-worker, Shaun Magee, and she made the road trip to New Orleans to reunite family with their dog.
Valerie Rice - I met Denise's mom while walking my dog Kobie about 5 years ago, after a short conversation about our rescue dogs she began talking about her daughter and what she was doing and her mom thought that I might be interested in what Denise was doing. I called Denise and I began making donations to the food bank that Animal Lifeline was running then began to do food drives in my classes at Delaware Valley College and the rest as they say is history. I am currently the Head Athletic Trainer at Delaware Valley College and the Advisor to our Student Athlete Advisory Board and Animal Lifeline Del Val and Board Member of Animal Lifeline. When we started this club what was most important to me was teaching these college students that they can make a difference each and every day in what they are doing and to also educate them as to what is happening outside of our community, we can save the world one dog and shelter at a time.
Leigh Siegfried - Leigh Siegfried, is a Certified Pet Dog Trainer and Behavior Consultant and owner of Opportunity Barks Behavior & Training. Opportunity Barks specializes in behavior problem solving and companion dog training and serves the DC and Philadelphia metro regions, with four class locations.
Before starting Opportunity Barks as a full time venture, Leigh got her feet wet as a shelter volunteer and then went on to manage an award - winning daycare and training center- where she and her staff were responsible for the care of upwards of 60 dogs daily. Leigh went on to be the Animal Behavior and Training Manager for one of the most progressive shelters on the East Coast, the Washington Animal Rescue League (WARL). While at WARL, she was responsible for performing behavior evaluations, implementing an enrichment program and teaching staff, volunteers (and the public). She also had the unique opportunity to work with 11 of the seized Michael Vick pit bulls.
Leigh holds a Bachelor of Science from Penn State University. Her professional memberships and affiliations include the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT), International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC) and Animal Behavior Management Alliance (AMBA).
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Mike Thomas - Hi my name is Mike Thomas and I live in Jim Thorpe, PA. I am a junior at Delaware Valley College majoring in Animal Science with hopes of going to graduate school for Veterinarian Microbiology. I am a member of FFA, Alpha Gamma Rho, and the college’s baseball team. In my free time I love to hunt, fish, and do anything outside. I have just finished an internship with Temple University where I was a became a AALAS certified laboratory technician which initially sparked my interest in Microbiology.
Allison Tomasino - Allison is a Small Animal Science Major here at Delaware Valley College. I also play softball for the Aggies. I just finished my first year and already know that I want to try to get into Vet School. But this club and this trip is going to be a great experience that I can't pass up.
Kristine Velez - I am currently a senior at Delaware Valley College. Although my major is Agronomy and Environmental Science, I like to volunteer my time and efforts to helping abandoned, lost, and unwanted pets. I have been involved in Animal Lifeline since my sophomore year. I have been to South Carolina twice for outreach trips providing supplies, medicine, and my hard work. I also join local trips to shelters and kennels in the tri-state area. As of spring 2010, I am the recording secretary of our club at school. I think that through our hands-on hard-work, dedication, and education we can guide communities to become home to more pet-friendly residence.
Dan Weesner - Dan Weesner will be a Sophomore at Delaware Valley College this upcoming fall. He is a Zoo Science major, who wants to work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services when he graduates. Dan was the only Freshman to attend Animal Lifeline’s last outreach trip to South Carolina, and continues to be a very active club member.
Christine Yacco - My name is Christine Yacco, just Yacco to most. Ever since I was little my life's passion and ambition was working with animals of any shape or size. Life, as it so often does, led me to the seemingly perfect place to follow those ambitions and I found myself enrolled in Delaware Valley College. In my junior year, a professor of mine Dr. Donnelly, mentioned an Animal Lifeline outreach trip she and a few select individuals would be taking down to Clay county West Virginia to help fix up a local shelter. I volunteered and upon arrival, fell in love with a black and tan sheltie/chow mix named Nosey Bear who just a few short months later, came home with me to his forever home. From that point on I was committed to the Animal Lifeline cause. The following year the DVC chapter of Animal Lifeline was established and the group started their tradition of going on week long trips to shelters that needed assistance. This summer's trip will be my fourth over all, but third trip to West Virginia. Despite other activities that kept me busy such as softball, hiking, reading and writing, I devoted as much time as I could to helping the Animal Lifeline cause. I have since graduated from DVC in the class of 2009 with a degree in Wildlife Conservation and together with Nosey Bear, continue to pursue my dream of working with animals and helping them in whatever way I can.
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