Name:  Rachel
Position: Humane Society Police Officer

What you were doing before you came to ARL:  I have worked in multiple animal related fields before the position I am now in. I worked as a veterinary assistant, an adoption counselor and kennel tech at another rescue, a doggy daycare attendant, and even spent a few years on a dairy farm taking care of calves.

Pets at home:  I have a 6-year-old American bulldog pit mix that I rescued from No Nonsense Neutering when she was just a puppy. Her owner had left her and two of her brothers at the spay/neuter clinic, and a coworker had asked me to foster one. Once she was home with me, she never left. I named her Roo, for her bouncy and big personality.

Tell us about some of the roles you and your team take on to help the animals under our care. I am proud to work in a department that provides the opportunity to be a voice for the voiceless and ensures every animal in our community receives the proper care it deserves. Our department handles cases ranging from strays to cruelty and neglect and even owners falling on hard times looking for help. Our department is the bridge that gets animals from needing help to having a safe haven.

How long have you been working in animal welfare? What made you want to work in this field? I knew I always wanted to work with animals, I was obsessed with Animal Planet and more specifically the show Animal Cops Houston. I remember being in elementary school, thinking how cool it must be to have a job like that.I started working in animal welfare the summer of 2018, my first real job after high school was at the Animal Rescue League as a kennel tech. While I only worked here for a few short months, I knew that this was a job I could easily do forever. Before going back to college in the fall, I had decided I would instead continue my career in animal welfare.

An animal you’ll never forget. While working at the ARL in 2018, a little black and white pittie named Eli came into the shelter. Eli was very shut down, nervous, and afraid. I spent every day visiting with him until he decided we would be best friends. I fell so in love with him and being able to be a part of his positive pathway through the shelter, and I knew I needed to be there when he got adopted. That was when I decided not to go back to college and instead continue my career in this industry, helping to save animals, just like Eli. Eventually, a lovely family who was as dedicated to making him feel as safe and loved as I did finally adopted Eli. I think about him often and how much I learned from him. Eli taught me a lot about trust, patience, and how healing the right kind of love can be. Eli was the reason I didn’t return to college and, most likely, the reason I can call myself a Humane Police Officer today.

What is your favorite memory at ARL? I think the day I was officially sworn in as a Humane Society Police Officer, to feel how excited my coworkers were for me was really special. I am so lucky to have such an amazing, supportive team.

If you could cross one thing off your bucket list right now, what would it be?  I’d go on a nonstop vacation for three months. Anywhere I want. What is one thing you wish people knew about your job? Animal welfare is an incredibly mentally and emotionally taxing job. I am certain everyone within our organization has chosen this career path because they want to dedicate their lives to these animals. Sometimes, the hardest challenges we face are not, in fact, due to the animals, but instead from the public. It truly makes our day when someone simply thanks us for the work we do, as on occasion, decisions made in the shelter are met with criticism from the public. I would want the public to know that we at the ARL, without a doubt, love our animals, and we spend every day fighting to save as many as we possibly can. We make decisions together and nothing is ever taken lightly, we have lives in our hands. I can assure our team does everything in our power to help as many of the animals that come through our doors find their furever homes. I would ask the public to be kind to shelter workers. They have dedicated their lives to saving the voiceless, but they can’t do it without you.

Any last words of wisdom? (Share a life motto, quote, movie line, experience… Whatever you feel called to share) 

“Animals do speak, but only to those who know how to listen.”