Volunteer Highlight

Kickie with Klondike

It's time to meet the medical foster for Cayman!  If you haven't already read Cayman's medical biography, you can read it here.  Fostering can be incredibly challenging and it takes someone incredibly special to foster for a dog with serious medical needs. That's why this month's volunteer highlight is Veterinary Technician Kickie D'Alfonso.

Kickie and Jameson

Kickie was born and raised in New Orleans, LA.  She attended Our Lady of Holy Cross College focusing on business management until evacuating to Austin with her canine Nyko post hurricane Katrina in late 2005.  In January 2006 Kickie discovered her true passion for the veterinary field up beginning a career with Emancipet.  Since then she has worked with a variety of veterinary establishments including the local animal shelter, internal medicine department of a specialty hospital, private practices, mobile vaccine clinics, home euthanasia, non-profit high volume specialty/orthopedic surgery and spay/neuter clinics.  The D'Alfonso family specializes in fostering hospice, special needs and medical cases ranging rom dogs and cats to pigs and wildlife for multiple organizations.  At the center of the household is her husband Jameson, 8 canines, 1 feline, and a very diva pot belly pig named Penelope Aretha Maple.  Kickie finds great joy in being able to give back to a community that welcomed her with open arms years ago.  Keep reading to see how she became involved with GPRS.



Prompt: When did you first learn about GPRS?
Approximately 2 years ago when my clinic was contacted to help with a medical case.

Prompt:  What volunteering do you do for the rescue?
Our family focuses on fostering hospice, special needs and medical cases since we have easy access to veterinary care and 12 years of technician experience.

Prompt:  What are the rewards and challenges to volunteering?
Seeing the transformation of severe medical cases and the happiness of the families who adopt them.  The medical care can be emotionally and physically taxing depending on the cases.

Prompt:  Who are your furry family members?
Nyko Pez-12 year old Jack Russell/Akita, spayed female, who has been with me since 4 months old and rescued minutes before being euthanized.

Josephine Anne Marie-11 year old Pitbull/Heeler, spayed female, been with me since she was 5 weeks old and the only survivor of her litter of 13.  Her mom was hit by a car and left on the side of the road with the pups; we adopted JoJo and shortly after we left the shelter they euthanized the rest of the litter-we had found out when we called an hour later to tell them we had homes for the others.

Emma Mae-12 year old Chihuahua/Westie, spayed femail, been with me since she was 9 months old; she was rescued from the waters of Katrina flooding.

El Cunado-16 year old Dachshund/Chihuahua, neutered male, been with us for 6 years and was scheduled to be euthanized due to several medical issues and pulled minutes before.  He was given 2 weeks to 2 months to live.

Chunk Chunk-12 year old Pomeranian, spayed female, adopted 2 years ago after her owner passed away and part of a bonded pair.

Little Little-13 year old Teacup Chihuahua spayed female, adopted 2 years ago with Chunk Chunk.  She has no eyes, no teeth and had to have half her tongue amputated due to multiple medical conditions when we adopted her.

Theodore Charleston-20 months, Olde English Bulldog, neutered male, adopted 3 months ago after his owner was admitted to an assisted living facility.

Deuce Dwight-8 year old Pitbull, neutered male, chained to a tree for 5 year of his life prior to getting to us.  He was hit by a car when he was 5 months old and the owner did not fix the leg so it fused.  We adopted him 3 years ago.

Puggy Sue-4 year old Pug, spayed female, adopted 4 years ago and was a neglect/cruelty seizure.

Bart Llama-14 year old Chihuahua, neutered male, adopted 5 months ago in a cruelty seizure.  He was in renal failure and was 2 pounds when he arrived and is currently 5.3 pounds and out of renal failure now.

Dudley-15 year old Poodle mix, neutered male; his parents divorced and had a custody battle after being given away; they refused to reclaim him and left him at the shelter to be euthanized.  We adopted him as a hospice case2 months ago.

Nico Cat-7 year old domestic short hair, found in a cement mixing bucket a a constructions site with her 3 siblings.  We adopted her 7 years ago.

Gratzi-15 month old, domestic short hair, spayed female thrown out of a car window onto a road when she was 7 weeks old.  She is a long term foster that is basically a resident as she has feline leukemia and she has not gotten any adoption interest due to the expected short life span.

Penelope Aretha Maple-3 year old pot-bellied pig, spayed female.  Her owners bought her after they had been drinking and their dog began attacking her.  Due to her parents being bred for small size, she has multiple orthopedic issues we have had her since she was 9 weeks old.

What an amazing family!  Cayman's story touched hundreds of blog readers and it's clear how he was able to improve after being cared for by Kickie.  And it's very clear why Kickie is our "Volunteer Highlight" for August.  Enjoy the pictures of her lovely family!