From the Humane Animal Response Team of California (HART of CA) website, of which I am a founding member:
After years of equestrian training and managing a small horse stable, Michele began volunteering with cats and dogs at local animal shelters in her home state of New York. In 2005, she was approved to join the Suffolk County SPCA and began training as a volunteer Animal Cruelty Investigator. Shortly thereafter, a move to California brought her to the disaster side of animal rescue work. Michele is a team member of the United Animal Nations (UAN) Emergency Animal Response Service (EARS) and the Humane Society of the US (HSUS) National Disaster Response Team (NDART). Michele is certified in a multitude of FEMA courses, CPR, Pet First Aid and CPR, American Humane’s Basic Animal Emergency Services, and she will soon be certified in Technical Large Animal Rescue. Michele has sat as a Board Member on a local Disaster Response Team, is a volunteer at Villalobos Pitbull Rescue, and has also fostered Pitbulls for Friends of Orange County Homeless Pets. She has responded to the Santiago Fire, assisted in an animal hording situation in Lancaster, and most recently was deployed by EARS to the Jesusita Fire in Santa Barbara. Michele currently works at an Animal Hospital, and resides in Orange County with her kitty and American Pitbull Terrior.