|
Pet Allies offers Spay/NeuterServices, Foster Care and Adoption Services to needy pets,
located in the White Mountains of Arizona
Officers & Leadership
RJ Owens
President of the Board:
Director, Foster Chair,
Fundraising Chair
e-mail link President@petalliesaz.org
RJ has been privileged to be President, now Director, of Pet Allies for several years. She has been a dynamic member of Pet Allies since 2002 and has seen immense changes and expansion in the organization. As part of a hands-on working board, RJ's position is Foster Chair. RJ?s passion is fostering dogs for Pet Allies. There is great joy seeing pets find new loving forever homes. Many more people contact Pet Allies for pet assistance than the organization is able to help and is the most challenging element of the position. RJ is a member of Association of Fundraising Professionals, and is active with that organization. As President of Pet Allies she takes the reins of Fundraising Chair. With many years of business experience RJ leads Pet Allies into the future making the group mission a reality.
Prior to volunteering her time with Pet Allies RJ served as Treasurer and Foster Chair for the Silver Creek Regional Humane Society, as a foster for Arizona Humane Society, on the Board of Directors as Secretary for Westridge Lutheran Church, President of Women of Westridge, a volunteer for Maricopa County Legal Secretaries Association, and Treasurer of the East King County Legal Secretaries Association.
In her spare time, RJ loves to garden, especially garlic. She is a Master Gardener and volunteers with the local County Extension as well as helps her friends and clients of the Barkin' Basement with their gardening questions. She also reads avidly, principally psychological thrillers. RJ shares her home with a yellow lab named Abby as well as many foster dogs who receive love and guidance while awaiting their own forever loving homes.
|
Rebecca Bloomquist
Vice-President:
Rebecca has been a member of Pet Allies since 1999 and has been Vice President of Pet Allies since 2005. Rebecca's passion is helping pets live longer, healthier lives through spay/neuter. She acts as the Spay/Neuter Coordinator for Pet Allies. Rebecca helps develop protocol for Pet Allies' high volume spay/neuter clinic and is also a Surgery Clinic volunteer. Foster pets who require major surgical procedures receive aftercare and recover in her home. Rebecca advises Pet Allies in all avian matters and fosters feathered friends while they await their new forever home. Amongst the variety of pets Rebecca fosters she holds a special soft spot for rats and degus. She and her dog Sirius have volunteered at Navapache Regional Medical Center as a Certified Therapy Team. Rebecca has been a small business owner for the past 24 years. She brings both business and marketing skills to Pet Allies assisting with design and implementation of marketing campaigns and staff training to help further the mission of the group and its programs. Rebecca shares her life with 2 blue & gold macaws: George & Scooter; 3 dogs: Brandy, Sirius & Kate; and an extraordinary brown tabby named Larry. Her husband, Dan, is her best friend....
|
Jan Shamasko
Clinic Manager
Robert (Bob) Shamasko
Data Technician
Jan started in the veterinary profession after working 11 years in human medicine which included a variety of occupations, hospital, optometry, and dental; working for 2 Radiologists, an Ophthalmologist, an Optometrist, and a couple of Dentists. Eventually she moved on to animal care, as Jan says, "I finally found my niche. I loved it, animals became my passion. I worked my way up to Head Technician and Supervisor. My first concern was always the welfare and care of the animals. " And in my opinion, anyone who likes expressing anal glands is definitely in the right business as a Veterinary Technician!
After 11 years Jan was promoted to head the General Surgery Department of VCA Aurora, a large Veterinary clinic. Jan found working with five doctors was a challenge but she loved every minute of it. The oddest surgery she ever assisted with, so far, was removing cataracts on a pet duck! She acted as anesthesiologist.
Jan used to go around to nursing homes with her black lab Lucy. Lucy had been abandoned after being hit by a car which shattered her hind leg, and left her blind in one eye. Jan nursed her back to health and adopted her. Lucy in turn helped others by being a great therapy dog. Jan married her best friend (Bob not Lucy), and they both fell in love with Arizona, moving here in 2009, and they have never looked back.
Jan loves to travel, and photography is a hobby. Quoting Jan, "I have had dogs and cats and horses my entire adult life, at the present time we have one dogger (daughter) named Sunshine and she is the sunshine of our lives."
Jan is usually seen driving a turquoise two-door Suzuki, but her real love is their tiny Miata. Because their road back to their home is unimproved, the Miata has to live in a rented garage. Nothing like spoiling a car, huh?
Jan has the mid-western knack of hospitality, which includes chatting with volunteers and clients, and making some delicious snacks and meals for staff and volunteers at the Clinic. On surgery days, mini-breaks are taken for quick snacks, and Jan and Bob often bring yummy stuff.
Bob, known at Pet Allies as Bob2, was born in Chicago. He has 2 sons, 1 daughter and in his words "has been married 47 years (took me 3 wives..). Well we think Jan, our Clinic Manager, can hold her own! Bob worked 20 yrs as a meat cutter and 23 yrs with an electronics contract manufacturer, mostly in purchasing. Sunny, a chocolate lab, also calls Bob her Dad. She can sometimes be seen visiting Pet Allies.
Bob relocated to Arizona in July 2009, and as to why, "My heroes have always been cowboys ! Now I live in the West !" At least he doesn't carry a six-shooter on his hip.
Bob's favorite locations in Arizona are, "Grand Canyon (Jan and I were married on the canyon rim), Tombstone, Rock Art Ranch, Oak Creek Canyon..matter of fact we love the whole state! Hate crowds and big cities." Well, we do have a few of those here, so we know what parts of the State he doesn't like. Bob & Jan love to travel throughout the State. Wondering where to take visitors? They'll have plenty of suggestions for a great time.
We call Bob our Data Technician, as he wrestles with technology to obtain the best prices on products he orders for Pet Allies' Spay and Neuter Clinic, provide meaningful data on services provided to clients over the year, and smooth the pathway of high volume services. He didn't have any gray hair until he started on this project!
Bob's sense of humor is greatly appreciated by everyone at Pet Allies. And all the snacks he brings too.
|
Rita Holbert
Assistant Store Manager:
Rita Holbert began with Pet Allies as a part-time relief worker at the Barkin' Basement. She is now the Assistant Store Manager, and in her words, "I absolutely love my work at the BB. Being able to help the animals and of course the humans gives me great pleasure. Every day is a new adventure. If I can help find just one pet a home it makes my day. No pet should be without a good home."
Rita and her husband Russ moved here from California 8 years ago. She worked in the semiconductor industry for over 25 years, for National Semiconductor, Hewlett-Packard, and LAM Research companies. Rita started in the manufacturing lab, moved on to being a trainer and eventually to a Master Process Technician. As the industry changed she and Russ decided to make a move out of state, lucky for us, they found the beautiful White Mountains.
After moving here Rita worked in a jewelry store for about 6 months, but found she was spending most of her paycheck on jewelry! Thinking she needed a different career she obtained her real estate license and worked for Coldwell Banker for about 3 years. Again, she really liked that work, but with the economy, home sales dwindled. Rita then re-educated herself and started working with the developmentally disabled. She was a manager for a time in St. Johns, then moved to a job here in Show Low. Rita found this a very rewarding career, but acknowledged it does have its challenges.
We're lucky that Rita was able to reinvent herself yet again and come to work at the Barkin Basement. We hope Rita will help the Barkin' Basement become a fixture in the White Mountains, where customers come to shop, donate and adopt.
Rita has three dogs, Presh a border collie mix, Bracey a greyhound and Chloe, a lab mix. She also has an umbrella cockatoo who was 30 this past June. According to Rita "I don't think I could ever return the love and devotion that these girls have given to me. I wish I could give every homeless pet a home." We think Rita fits right in with everyone at Pet Allies.
|
Katie Lyons
Adoption Volunteer:
Katie Lyons acts as a Pet Allies adoption volunteer, over-seeing the adoption events and helping to match the appropriate pet with each person. She brings her considerable education, training, and talent as a trial litigator to good use in getting to the heart of prospective adopters' minds and circumstances. Additionally, Katie provides, on a pro bono basis, legal advice, opinions, and oversight regarding various aspects of Pet Allies' affairs.
Katie is a native Arizonan, born and raised in Tucson. She attended college in Southern California, law school in Columbus, Ohio and is a licensed attorney in Arizona. She is owner and managing partner of The Lyons Law Firm, PLLC in Prescott Arizona.
Katie's life is carefully planned for her by her beloved rescues: silver-patch tabby Moses, Husky/Wolf Hybrid canine comedian, Fargo, and the newest member to her family, the strong willed, fluffy rebel Samson.
Katie's personal experience with adopting rescue animals and her people skills have allowed for many successful Pet Allies adoptions throughout the state of Arizona. Her ability to match pets to the right person has resulted in numerous smiles on the faces of many families. Through adoptions, Katie has not only given homeless animals a roof over their heads; she has also given both the animals and their new guardians a lifetime of companionship and years of happiness.
|
Debbie Collins-Rivera
Lead Surgery Technician
Debbie hails from the fast paced Urban Jungle of the Bronx and entered veterinary medicine as a licensed Veterinary Technician in 1994. She excels in the areas of nursing care and surgical assistance and has worked in several animal hospitals while in New York. Debbie applied her skills to become senior technician at a high volume, low-cost spay/neuter clinic. In 2004 Debbie relocated, with her family, to the White Mountains of Arizona. From the Jungle to the Country was a drastic transition for a city girl used to all a large city has to offer. The animals of the White Mountains have greatly benefited from Debbie's amazing animal handling skills, calm demeanor and professional attention to detail. Debbie began working with Pet Allies in 2007 as lead technician of the surgical team at the spay/neuter clinics. Her experience as a licensed Veterinary Technician will benefit thousands of animals, helping them live longer, healthier lives. Debbie shares her life with husband David, son Emmett and 3 kitties: Grizzle, Dusty and The Cheese. Some of Debbie's other interests include tattoos, body piercing and her ever growing Tarot card and Oracle card collection. The cards are in her favor....
|
Awards and Accolades:
Hope for the Animals, PACC911.org
Rebecca Bloomquist, Spay/Neuter Coordinator
Recipient Treva Slate HOPE Award, January 2008
(outstanding Volunteer among PACC911 partner organizations)
Sam, the cattle dog
Rags to Riches Recognition, January 2008
(best adoption story taking place at a PACC911 function)
|
|
