I was born and raised in Connecticut and have three sisters. Growing up, our family always had a dog, usually a Boxer, along with a tailless cat and, eventually, two black kittens my oldest sister secretly brought home.
My boyfriend, Mike, and I got our first dog together in 2004 when we gave a home to a 10-year-old Shepherd mix belonging to a coworker. Sadly, we lost her to congestive heart failure about a year later. We soon adopted Charlie, a two-year-old brindle Shepherd mix who had been found wandering along a highway and had spent more than four months at animal control. We were lucky enough to have Charlie for eight wonderful years before we had to let him go.
About a month later, we met a couple looking to rehome their five-month-old, 55-pound Pit mix, Scooby. They lived in a small apartment and were struggling to keep up with his size and energy. We drove to New York to bring Scooby home, and he quickly became part of our family.
In 2013, Mike received a job offer in North Carolina, so we left Connecticut and moved to Benson with Scooby. While looking for work, I began volunteering with a local rescue because of my lifelong passion for animals. That experience introduced me to Unleashed, whose philosophy and strong relationships with local rescues immediately resonated with me.
I began working for Unleashed in 2015 at the Crabtree Valley Mall kiosk, moved to the Lake Boone store in 2016, and became Assistant Manager in 2018. In 2019, I was promoted to Store Manager of Crescent Commons.
That same year, one of our rescue partners asked me to foster an eight-week-old puppy named Tulip. I jokingly told my husband before I left for work that day, “I promise I won’t come home with a puppy.” Of course, I came home with Tulip. She was adopted but returned to the rescue a few weeks later, and we agreed to foster her again. Soon after, we moved into a house with a large fenced-in yard, and we knew Tulip was meant to stay with us.
In December 2020, I became an Area Manager overseeing the Cary, City Market, and Crabtree Valley Mall locations. In February 2022, I was promoted to General Manager.
Later that year, we unexpectedly found another tan dog with a black muzzle in our neighbor’s yard. She was skinny, dirty, and had no microchip. After searching for her owners, we agreed to foster her. I refused to name her because I didn’t want to get attached, so for three weeks she was simply “Dog With No Name.” While I was away working at our coastal stores, my husband decided she was fitting in too well to let go. When I returned, I told him, “Her name is Nymeria, and you have no say.” And that’s how we ended up with three tan dogs with black muzzles.
In January 2025, I was promoted to Director of Internal Development and Outreach. This role gives me the incredible opportunity to help even more animals through employee training, rescue partnerships, and community outreach. I get to do something I am passionate about on a day-to-day basis and am thankful for the opportunity every day.
