—  Our Story

Growing up my family always had pets. When I moved to Los Angeles it was the first time I didn’t have some type of animal at the house to look after.

That all changed in 2009.

I was searching for an animal companion when I heard a local man wanted to re-home his baby Sulcata tortoise. I had a tortoise when I was a kid (his name was Chuck!) and I loved the idea of spending the rest of my life with a tortoise just like him. I adopted Rocket Larry and he became my first friend in Los Angeles.

Fast forward to 2011.

My friend sent me a picture of a puppy she found at a bus stop. The puppy had a cleft lip and was wearing a bow tie as a collar. After taking the pup to the vet to make sure her cleft lip wasn’t a major medical issue, I offered to foster the puppy till she found a home. By the time the weekend was over, my boyfriend and I knew we were never letting that puppy go!

We named her Puka because she reminded us of a puka shell with her sandy, brindle markings, and cleft lip. Our bond quickly grew and pretty soon she was the center of our whole world. She became less of a pet and more of a member of our household.

Puka is a very special dog. Gaining her friendship was like winning the lottery and she has inspired me to get involved with the rescue community so that other dogs like Puka can find their forever homes.

Having Puka has taught me so much about myself and gives me another level of purpose in life outside of the regular day-to-day things. She has taught me about communication, patience, having fun, and the excitement of just being silly. In all senses of the word Puka represents happiness to me.

Then came Willie.

I’ve always wanted to be someone’s hero. And when I saw Willie walk out of the hospital on all 4 legs for the first time, I knew that I was Willie’s hero. She chose me and I am honored to be her mom.

If I were to tell anyone about my pets, I would say that once you rescue an animal your life will be filled with something so much better.