Petfinder.com Foundation's Rescue U is off again!
Rescue U is off again! This time we are heading to the Humane Society of Jefferson County in Jefferson City, TN. University of Knoxville vet students and undergraduates will join forces with students from Delaware Valley College from May 22-30 to help rehab the shelter. This shelter is particularly near and dear to us at Rescue U since not only is this a shelter we have worked with before to coordinate dog transports, but the shelter manager is a Delaware Valley College alumnus where Rescue U’s first chapter is from. Melissa Enck, the shelter manager, has run the Humane Society of Jefferson County for the last twenty months and has made great strides to rehabilitate the shelter as well as lower the facility’s euthanasia rates. She is an amazing coordinator, and we look forward to giving her shelter the extra boost of Rescue U power that they need to finish some of their more daunting projects.
There will be a lot of exciting construction on this trip! The shelter currently has 28 indoor/outdoor kennels plus 6 outdoor kennels, but nowhere for the dogs to really stretch their legs, nor do they have anywhere to take adopters to play with their potential new pets. The cat situation is similar; no play area for them inside or out. To fix that sad situation, students will be building their largest cattery to date with the help of our new friends from Project Pawsitive, a New Hampshire-based group that rehabs shelters in New England. Their new stellar cattery will include two indoor meet and greet areas that lead to two outdoor cat play yards to get those kitties some much needed space and outdoor time. In addition to the new fabulous cat house, students will be adding three large dog exercise pens, two new outdoor meet and greet pens and an indoor meet and greet area for the dogs. As usual they will also be repairing existing chainlink kennels, be pouring yards and yards of concrete to get the dogs out of the mud in addition to the many little projects that shelters always need. It’s going to be a great trip so stay tuned!
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Meet Some Volunteers:
Lauren Dudenbostel
- Lauren Dudenbostel just finished her first year of veterinary school at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and is also from Knoxville. She loves helping animals, and is really excited about this great opportunity to give back to the community! This will be Lauren’s first trip with Rescue U too!
Jennifer Mason
- Jennifer is a licensed veterinary technican who just completed her first year of veterinary school at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
She has two rescue dogs, Lilly and Oreo, and a 10 yr. old kitty, Pumpkinshine, who showed up at her house one day around Halloween. While in undergrad,
she participated in RAM and local spay and neuter clinics, both of which she found to be very rewarding. This will be her first time helping out with
Rescue U, and she is excited to be helping. When her nose isn't buried in some veterinary literature, she likes to paint, draw, write, and walk her dogs
in the country. She loves to be outside and hopes to specialize after veterinary school, most likely in bovine or exotic medicine.
Mary Hall
- Mary Hall is a vet student from the University of Tennessee Knoxville and is also from the Knoxville area. She is interested in small animal medicine and shelter medicine. She has volunteered at Young Williams Animal Center in Knoxville doing vet assistant work, but this will be her first Rescue U trip. She says she is currently not good at building
things, but is willing to learn and will do whatever she can to help out! That’s the Rescue U spirit!
Bryna Donnelly - Dr. Bryna Donnelly is the cofounder and program manager of Rescue U. In her spare time, she is also a biology professor at Reading Area Community College in Pennsylvania. Since 2007, she has been travelling with college students rehabilitating animal shelters in need. She saw a quote on the wall of one of the first shelters she ever went to that said, “Rescuing one animal may not change the world, but for that one animal, the world will be changed forever.” While reading it, one of the students said to her, “bet we can do that for thousands,” and she was hooked. Teaching students how they can enrich the lives of thousands of animals with nothing more than a little hard work and perseverance is her goal. With the help of the Petfinder.com Foundation, she hopes to bring Rescue U to every college she can.
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.
Denise Bash - Denise Bash is a Program Manager for the Petfinder.com Foundation with an extensive background in rescue, project management, and development. Denise stumbled quite literally into animal rescue after falling in love with a dog at an adoption event. Her desire to help that one dog find a home led Denise volunteering for five years with a variety of municipal and private humane animal organizations. Her continued passion led her to found Animal Lifeline for which she still volunteers in her free time. Outreach trips with Rescue University are a lifetime commitment for Bash who believes that education is one of the most important aspects of creating humane communities. Denise lives in Pennsylvania with her children, husband, three dogs and kitty.
Courtney Dickinson - Courtney Dickinson is a senior biology major at Delaware Valley College from Brookfield, Connecticut. She had never set foot in a shelter until her first outreach trip to West Virginia at the end of her freshman year with Rescue U. She fell in love with the club so much that she looked for a way to become more involved. She has been president of Rescue U at DVC for the past two years. She has accompanied the club on five of the six outreach trips that have been offered at the college. These trips brought her to West Virginia, Kentucky and South Carolina twice. Although she plans on working in the microbiology field when she graduates, she hopes to continue to aid shelters.
John Schaffer - John Schaffer graduated from Delaware Valley College in 2009 with a degree in Animal Behavior and Training. Immediately after graduating, he got a job as the Assistant Director of Admissions for Delaware Valley College. He now serves as one of the advisors for The Deleware Valley College chapter of Rescue U. John began going on these outreach trips as a senior because he was offered extra credit for one of his classes. He continued going on the trips because of how rewarding it was to help these animals. About two years ago, on a Rescue U trip to South Carolina, he fell in love with one of the dogs at the shelter and adopted her. After surviving heartworm, Sookie (a husky/akita mix) is one of the happiest, most personable dogs you will meet. Animals have always been his passion, big and small. It was not until he started working with Rescue U that he realized how uneducated some people are and how much animal shelters need volunteers just like the great students of Delaware Valley College. John's dream is to have this Rescue U club spread to campuses all over the nation so more and more shelters can get the help they need and deserve.
Dan Weesner - Dan Weesner is a junior at Delaware Valley College. He is a Small Animal Science major, who wants to go onto veterinary school when he graduates. Dan has been on three outreach trips, two to South Carolina and the other to West Virginia. He continues to be a very active Rescue U club member as well as an active member in Student Activities Council and an active brother of Rho Epsilon Kappa.
Chris Jermyn - Chris Jermyn from Haddon Heights New Jersey is majoring in Criminal Justice. He has been in many outreach programs to help children but never for animals. Chris was inspired to join this outreach trip upon hearing the stories of how rewarding it is to help animals in need. He owns a dog and two cats and loves animals.
Lacey Adamski - Lacey Adamski is a sophomore at Delaware Valley College. She is a chemistry major and is originally from Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania. Lacy’s first outreach trip was to Kentucky and is very excited to be going on her second trip to Oklahoma. She enjoys being an active member of Rescue U and looks forward to continuing working in this club. She plans on going into teaching but will keep working with shelters and animals throughout her life.
Christine Yacco - Christine Yacco is a Delaware Valley College Rescue U alumni trainer. She is one of the founding Rescue U members and has been working with the program since 2007. She now travels with John and Janina training new Rescue U recruits the fine art of chain link fencing. Christine is currently living in Northern New Jersey with her Rescue U pup Nosy Bear.
Elizabeth Cheeseman
- Elizabeth Cheeseman, a freshman at Delaware Valley College, is majoring in Small Animal Science with a minor in Large Animal Science, and plans on attending
vet school. She is from Carney's Point, New Jersey. She has volunteered regularly at an animal shelter since her junior year in high school, and started working at
shelters with her Girl Scout troop even younger helping to clean. She hasn't been on an outreach trip yet, but she is really excited and she loves being a part of
Rescue U. It is her goal to help as many animals as she can, and she really hopes Rescue U will help her learn skills she can use to help with shelters all around
her area.
Heather Beams
- Heather Beams is a sophomore business major at Delaware Valley College. She is from Allentown, New Jersey where she works at a therapeutic riding center for
people with disabilities that also rescues and rehabilitates horses. She has always rescued dogs, and her best friend of 10 years is her
German Shepherd / Black Lab mix named Molly. Tennessee will be her third trip with Rescue U after trips to Guthrie, OK and Luzerne County, PA.
Becca Tritt
- Becca Tritt, from Thorndale Pennsylvania, is a sophomore zoo science
major at Delaware Valley College. She has had a passion for shelter
animals since a young age, leading to adoption of all the animals she
grew up with. She also completed her Gold Award for Girl Scouts about
the adoption of animals in shelters and the important of spaying and
neutering. Upon coming to college she connected with the Rescue U
club right away and has taken a larger role in the club by becoming a
fundraising chair for the upcoming year. This is Becca’s second trip
with Rescue U and plans on attending many more to come. Her future
plans include becoming a zookeeper and conservation education in zoos
while continuing to aid shelter animals in any way she can.
Melissa Gallo
- Melissa Gallo graduated in the class of 2012 from Delaware Valley
College. Her position was fundraising board of Rescue U where she
helped create events such as Life Sized Angry Birds, Pumpkin Smash,
and a Lemonade Stand to raise money for the club. She participated in
past outreach trips and has been a club member since her sophomore
year at Delaware Valley College. With her degree in Wildlife
Conservation, Melissa hopes to go on and find new ways to help out
other creatures.
Valerie Rice-Smith
- Valerie Rice-Smith is the head Athletic Trainer at Delaware Valley College in Doylestown Pennsylvania, and one of the cofounders of Rescue U.
When her and her husband Shaun aren’t playing with their rescue dogs Sophie and Sam, she is busy coordinating transports of animals from overcrowded
shelters to rescues in PA, running a food bank for rescues and animal caregivers in need, and helping with local spay/neuter programs.
She loves working with college students and helping animals so Rescue U is a dream come true for her!
Heather Lowe
- Heather Lowe is currently a sophomore studying Small Animal Science at
Delaware Valley College. Upon graduating, she hopes to go on to
veterinary school and become a veterinarian, where she can continue to
develop her love for animals. She is from Dunmore, Pennsylvania and
has been involved with Rescue U since her freshman year. Heather’s
first outreach trip was to the Luzern County SPCA, and she looks
forward to her second trip to Tennessee. She enjoys being part of an
organization devoted to helping shelters in need, and hope’s to
continue her volunteer work in the future.
Sarah Lowe
- Sarah Lowe is a current graduate, with a degree in Leisure and Sports Studies from Kutztown University. She hopes to work in the field of sport management
and pursue her passion of working with children. She is from Dunmore, Pennsylvania and this will be her first outreach trip to Tennessee. She loves animals,
enjoys the outdoors, and adventuring. She also loves to help others and hope’s to continue her volunteer work in the future.