A CCA volunteer for the last three years, Jen Izzo currently focuses her time managing the website, and supporting the organization’s social media presence. In the past, she was a Sunday shelter volunteer. Two of her family’s four dogs are CCA pups.
Allie (left) and Jojo (right): my two CCA pups!
I was out running errands with my mom – nearly seven years ago – on a snowy February afternoon when we stopped by Petco to buy dog food. Immediately when we walked into the store, I kept my eyes focused forward and walked directly to the back. Why? There was a dog adoption event in the front of the store. I knew I didn’t need a third dog. There was already enough fur in my house with the two I had at home! 😉
So I picked up the dog food and saw a volunteer sitting at a table far in the back of the store – away from the adoption event – with an information table. Just a lady and her pup. “This is safe,” I thought to myself.
Allie (left) on her first day at home.
I bent down and started petting her sweet pup while my mom made conversation with the lady. “What’s her name?” I asked. “Delta,” she replied. “She’s available for adoption.”
At that moment, this big black dog with the softest floppy ears was nuzzling her head into my hand. My heart started racing as I told myself “no more dogs, you already have two!”
We finished our conversation and got up to leave. This sweet dog, with her floppy ears and big brown eyes, got up and tried to follow us. She reached the end of her leash and just kept watching us walk away.
It broke my heart.
I couldn’t get her out of my mind, and less than two hours later I was on the CCA website searching for the adoption application, sending an email and praying so hard no one else scooped her up before I could adopt her.
Fortunately, they didn’t! I went through the adoption process with CCA and was immediately struck by how intensive it was. They asked for references, and actually followed up with them. They came to visit my house, met my other dogs and inspected my fence. I immediately knew how much this organization truly cares for the animals under its care.
I adopted Delta, named her Allie and she has become one of the most dependable friends in my world. In fact, more recently, she’s the only one of the four dogs who knew I was pregnant last year. When I couldn’t sleep in a bed, and had to be on the couch, she stayed with me every night. She checked on me and snuggled me and followed me everywhere. I think she’s one of the greatest dogs in the world.
Allie helping my husband propose <3
Anyway, I digress. When I met and married my husband, we tried to adopt another dog together, and sadly it just didn’t work out. And that experience caused him to have a tough conversation with me about how perhaps I should volunteer AT a shelter instead of trying to BE a shelter.
He had a point.
We couldn’t rescue every dog, but I could use my time and talent to help an organization that could. Immediately, CCA came to mind!
I started volunteering walking dogs every Sunday morning, and did that for nearly a year. Somewhere along the way, there was this litter of puppies that came in. Black lab mixes. MY FAVORITE.
Jojo as a puppy at the shelter. She was Shiloh back then.
We ended up fostering one when a hurricane came through the Upstate a few years ago. Her name was Shiloh. She was the most chill puppy we had ever met and seemed to truly fit into our little pack of senior dogs. We couldn’t bear to bring her back after the weather returned to normal. So, she became our new addition – JoJo. Named after a baby kangaroo because of her passion and enthusiasm for jumping.
From there, I began to work with the board to build a new website for the organization. In 2019, I served as a member of the board, and now in 2020, I manage CCA’s website, support our social media and act as a communications advisor to the board.
When I’m not volunteering, or working my day job, I moonlight as a crazy book lady as an independent consultant for Usborne Books & More. Through my small business, I have the opportunity to raise money for meaningful persons and organizations through a fundraiser called Cards for a Cause.
I held my first Cards for a Cause fundraiser for CCA during the month of March, and I’m so proud to share that we raised more than $500 for CCA’s Upstate shelter to provide a wall-mounted cat climbing tree and other needed supplies. If you were one of the folks who bought a box of greeting cards through the fundraiser – thank you from the bottom of my heart! I so very much appreciate your support.
I’m thankful to have had the opportunity to continue to make a difference in our community by helping homeless dogs and cats in the Upstate. CCA is a small organization, it’s not the most fancy, but that’s why I love it. It’s a place where people who love animals can work together to make a difference.
