Every month, we feature one of our members and all the great things they do to help animals. From individuals and nonprofits, to businesses and shelters, we are so grateful for our members and their passion to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.
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Ingham County Animal Control
Instituting the Fear Free program helped move the shelter toward an enviable average length of stay of just five days for both dogs and cats and earned one of MPA’s 2021 Out of the Box Awards, plus a $1,500 cash award.
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Camp Bow Wow Hudsonville
Growing up in Fremont, Michigan, Alicia Offringa was always surrounded by dogs, cats and the occasional lizard. As the owner of Camp Bow Wow Hudsonville, she’s still surrounded, but just by dogs. “My goal was to work in a zoo,” Alicia said. “While I was studying for a biology degree at Grand Valley State and…
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Little Traverse Bay Humane Society
Some organizations live up to their guiding philosophy. Some fall short. Count Little Traverse Bay Humane Society among the ones that make their words work. The Harbor Springs shelter was established in 1951 from what they term “humble beginnings” and now boasts a number of affiliated for-profit services, such as veterinarian services, boarding, grooming, day…
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Laura Witkowski
It could have been the mutt named Dougie her family had when Laura Witkowski was growing up in Clarkston. Or maybe it was Peanut, the tiny pet shop poodle who came along a few years later. More than likely, Laura says now, it was when she was a teenager and became more aware of animal…
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Adopt-A-Pet in Fenton
At Adopt-A-Pet in Fenton, enrichment and learning are such key activities for the dogs and cats there, training sessions are as regular an activity in their lives as eating and sleeping. Every dog is given a training session every day. Adopt-A-Pet’s spacious eight-acre grounds include wading pools, four fenced play yards and an agility course.…
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Bob Hunt
Bob Hunt’s love of helping homeless dogs began at a young age, growing up as he did in a family whose mother set a good example. “My mom took in strays,” Hunt said. “We pretty much always had dogs in our home.” Such devotion to animals has continued through the generations of Hunt’s family. One…
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Wendy Yax
Wendy Yax’ life is all about dogs. As a volunteer for several animal welfare organizations and as a co-owner of Paws Plus You, a fear-free dog training program, most of her time is devoted to helping dogs find and stay in loving homes.
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Humane Society of Macomb
Tool & die shop owner George Fox was an animal lover who had a dream to someday build a shelter where homeless pets would be cared for and safe. In 1955, he and a group of like-minded friends bought seven-and-a-half acres of land in Shelby Township and began to raise money to fulfill that dream.
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Jen Clarkson
In 2016, two outstanding animal welfare organizations, Dog Aide and Bark Nation, embarked on a collaborative effort called Project Grace, which offers free spay/neuter surgery for the dogs of Detroit through a voucher system. In addition to spay/neuter surgery, Project Grace dogs get free pain and antibiotic medications, nail trimming, needed vaccinations and microchipping.
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H.O.P.E. Animal Shelter
In Gogebic County in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, H.O.P.E. stands for Help Orphaned Pets Everywhere. That’s been the mission of the H.O.P.E. Animal Shelter since its inception in 1992. No Kill was the philosophy of the original H.O.P.E. founders, who wrote it into the organization’s charter. The shelter has maintained a save rate of between 95…
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Scott MacKenzie, Charlevoix Area Humane Society
Little did Scott MacKenzie know that attending a going-away party for the retiring executive director of the Charlevoix Area Humane Society (CAHS) would dramatically change his life. MacKenzie was serving on the search committee to hire a new executive director for CAHS and also looking for someone to chair the marketing committee.
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Joe Sowerby
Joe Sowerby is a successful business executive, an author, a marathon runner, a former professional boxing referee, a motivational speaker and a community leader, but his first love is making a difference in the lives of thousands of homeless dogs and cats.
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Sloane and Will Tillander
At just 10 years of age, the Tillander twins, Sloane and Will, are the youngest members of Michigan Pet Alliance. When asked why they wanted to join MPA, Sloane observed that “animals deserve better than being put down because nobody wants them.” Will added that MPA “would help shelters know how to care for animals.” They both…
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Reva Laituri, UPAWS
During Reva Laituri’s tenure, UPAWS has gone from a save rate of just 37% to saving 97% of the animals in UPAWS’ care. In 2019, a new $3.6 million state-of-the-art shelter was completed under her leadership, thanks in part to a $1.6 million bequest from UPAWS supporters Philip and Ruth Spade, for whom the new…
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Diana Newman, Eaton County Humane Society
For as long as she can remember, Diana Newman has loved animals. Growing up, cats and dogs were always a part of her home. The family lived a block off the busy main street of Bellevue, Michigan, where a parking lot and alley behind the businesses were a dumping ground for unwanted felines.
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Pet Angel Cat Adoption & Rescue
Pet Angel Cat Adoption & Rescue is true to its name. Under the leadership of mother-daughter team Nancy and Abby Engel, the shelter and its volunteers are truly angels for the homeless cats of Frankenmuth.
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C.H.A.I.N.E.D. INC.
Gina and Jim Freemon of C.H.A.I.N.E.D. INC. walk up and down, through empty lots and alleys, passing abandoned homes, looking for a dog that neighbors reported as living chained to a porch without shelter. The Freemons are working one of their December outreach events for C.H.A.I.N.E.D. in southwest Detroit.