Today we’d like to introduce you to Carrie Siems.
Hi Carrie, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
This all started when our child was selected to participate in Broadcom Masters Top 30 science fair projects in the nation for middle school students. We were flown to Washington, DC where 30 middle schoolers competed in a variety of science focused projects, with the winner getting a $100,000 prize. The take away from the experience was this group of kids were capable of changing the world. So we asked our child on the way home, what they could do to change the part of the world we live in. We had been fostering animals for a few months at this time. So our child found two black kittens on Facebook market place that needed rescue. Our child took their $500 prize from Broadcom, and spent it on getting the kittens all the vetting they would need to be adopted. We made a $12 profit. I asked our child what we needed to do to generate more money, so we could save more animals. They replied we needed puppies. So we rescued a litter of 8 puppies and their mom. This started in our garage, but when we started to post the puppies on social media people began to offer help through fostering.
This worked great! We operated out of our home for a few years, even as we were moving. One day my husband came home to an intake of 26 animals in our garage. He walked right past them, didn’t blink an eye, and said nothing. (Obviously he’s a keeper!) Around this time we were invited to a city council meeting highlighting our local animal control. We had helped a few of their animals. At this time, our city had a struggling animal control that could only maintain 1 of the 4 animal control officer positions. At the end of the meeting, members from the community were asking a lot of legal animal related questions, and the chief of police looked like a deer caught in headlights. I raised my hand and offered answers. He came up to us afterwards and asked if we would be interested in providing animal control for the city. We agreed. This was jumping into the pool head first, now having a shelter and paid staff. We are really proud of the work we did for 2.5 years. Politics intervened, and we moved on from animal control into our own shelter. Since then we have focused on diversifying income avenues to support rescuing animals and have started mobile grooming and a low cost vet clinic, which brings us to where we are today.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Absolutely not! There is nothing smooth about animal rescue. From the day we started, it has been Baptism by Fire. Rescue is complicated by nature. There are a lot of rules that govern rescues that can be open to interpretation by the department of agriculture inspector you’re assigned. Rescue is expensive, and requires raising money to be able to provide the animals in your program with the care they need. Rescue animals tend to present with a very wide range of medical ailments that aren’t common amongst typical pets that have received proper vetting from an early age.
The most challenging component of all tends to be rescue culture in and of itself. It seems to attract individuals that prefer animals over people. Ironic, because rescue essentially forces you to work with a lot of people in order for it to be successful. From people surrendering animals, to those fostering, to potential adopters, groups of volunteers, and a variety of veterinary professionals- each and every human component is necessary in order for animal rescue to work. Additionally it also entices people who have been hurt or have past trauma, so they feel compelled to help animals from similar circumstances (or animals are the only experience they have with unconditional love) – which can make it emotionally complex. And finally in our area, rescue has a tendency to be like different religions. We all believe in saving animals, but adamant in doing it in slightly different ways. It can generate a feeling of groups needing to fight for resources, instead of thinking outside the box and coming up with different ways. It is never black and white, but always shades of grey.
The lessons learned have included to follow our hearts, and make choices that allow us to sleep at night. You will never make everyone happy, and that’s ok. Often the right thing to do is the hardest. Know each situation has different perspectives. And to not let what other people think bother you. Keep your head down, and stay focused on the goal of saving animals. At the end of the day rescue is a labor of love, and that’s what keeps people going.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Essentially we do exactly what our mission statement says “changing lives through animal welfare.” This comes about in many different forms from helping save animals from high kill shelters, working with other rescues, taking in owner surrenders, etc. We have contributed to helping animals in our community through trap, neuter, return events, low cost vaccination clinics, and giving out pet food and supplies to community members in need.
Pawportunities tends to be known for smaller breed dogs that are scared and shut down. I have a soft spot for spicy little dogs, and love teaching other people how to help rehabilitate them. Maybe it’s because I can relate to spicy little dogs in my soul? Pawportunities is also known for taking in medical cases, as I believe they are the ones that need us most. I like the medical aspect of things and find it rewarding to be able to tell these stories to get these animals the help they need, find their forever homes, and for people to learn from.
It is hard to choose one thing I’m the most proud of, because I feel like that’s an ever changing goal post. Each time a task seems to daunting to take on, and it gets accomplished, we grow in our understanding of what we are capable in achieving. Our first major medical case, operating animal control for 2 years, being able to take in near 70 animals at once, obtaining our own shelter, to having over 40 heartworm positive cases in our care at one time- each of these were monumental things that elicited a true sense of accomplishment. And the reality of each of these accomplishments boils down to one consistent thing- continual amazement at the community’s support, and willingness to step up and make it possible.
What sets us apart from other rescues is that we operate like a business. Rescue is expensive. Adoptions have a lot of peaks and valleys that are dictated by the economic climate. Because of this, we have worked to diversify our income opportunities by adding a low cost clinic and mobile grooming unit, to be able to help the rescue be able to sustain during harder financial times.
Another thing that makes us different is my husband Jeff and I operate the rescue together. We work beautifully in tandem, and it is a way of life for us. We balance each other out. He is the practical, logistical, problem solver, while I am the heart, visionary, and chaos creator. We divide and conquer, which has allowed us to grow as an organization the way we have. It’s the only way we can achieve a work/life “balance”- by doing the work we love along side the person we love.
Going back to our mission of “changing lives through animal welfare,” I think it’s important to note that we aren’t just referencing animal lives, but also the human lives that are changed too. Think about every person who can no longer care for their pet, and the entire family that is affected by that. Or when a family member passes away leaving a pet behind, and the relatives that are trying to figure out a solution for this pet. Or a person that finds an animal on the street, and takes it to a high kill shelter, the employees that work at that shelter, and the relief that comes for those mentioned when that animal is safe going into rescue. Or the joy an entire family, their neighbors, and friends get when adopting a new pet into their family. Or the unintentional healing that can occur within an individual that’s helping an animal in need. One animal touches the lives of so many different people in different ways, so it’s important to remember that when you are helping animals, you are also simultaneously (and often unknowingly) helping several people.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
It’s hard to choose a singular favorite childhood memory. But many of my fondest memories are going to my grandparents farm, who had a lot of animals. They had cows, chickens, dogs, and so many cats- like 50. In that generation, it wasn’t really common practice to spay and neuter the way it is today. I loved playing with all of the kittens. My grandpa typically had a menagerie of what I consider to be medical misfit animals at any given time- a dove with an injured wing, and orphaned rabbit, etc. I think these core memories helped solidify a couple fundamental values. The first, creating my intense compassion for animals – especially those that need help most. The second, seeing the dramatic change capable in family culture from one generation to the next. My grandparents didn’t really spay and neuter, my parents pets were always spayed/neutered, I actively advocate for the spaying and neutering of pets. I think these were two paramount takeaways from childhood, as I believe animal rescue to be comprised of equal parts saving animals, and education.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://pawportunities.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pawportunities_rescue
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pawportunities
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PawportunitiesAnimalWelfare
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@pawportunities_rescue
