Today we’d like to introduce you to Sonja Gladwin.
Sonja, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
It’s been a decade since I joined the rescue community and although it’s hasn’t all been sunshine and rainbows, it has been some of the most rewarding work on my life. My rescue story is more like a river that has no beginning or end; it just shines brighter at times with the reflection of the people and animals around me.
In the beginning, I always had a variety of family dogs growing up (mutts, Boston terriers, boxers) and my grandparents always had Chihuahuas or miniature poodles. Dogs were a natural part of my family unit.
When my husband and I bought our first home within 6 months, it only makes sense that we found our first love, Gunny (Gunther Noah). Per his breed, he was a wonderfully feisty, full of personality Chihuahua (my choice). He was my first child, my ride-or-die. He did everything with me, and again per his breed, he really only wanted to be with me. As he started to get older and my husband also wanted a dog to call his own, we began entertaining the idea of a second dog for our family but didn’t know where to start.
Scrolling through social media, I started to notice more and more posts for a particular rescue over a period of a few weeks. This particular evening, they had a post about needing more fosters to save lives, “NO experience needed”. Naïve to the rescue world but curious and eager to help, I told my husband we had to help and submitted my application the next day to foster.
It didn’t take long before I received an email from Operation Paws for Homes (www.ophrescue.org) and set up a foster interview. I thought they would just stop by and give me a puppy to love on until it found a loving family, but I was up for an interview.
I had the best conversation with a volunteer named Elisabeth. She too had a resident Chihuahua (Teddy) and appreciated my love of Chihuahuas (Chis) and their unique yet lovable personalities. We spoke about the young history of Operation Paws for Homes (OPH) at the time, the fact that it was based on a network of regional volunteers (no paid staff), the support it provided its fosters, and how rewarding fostering could be. We also talked through the not-so-flashy side of rescue, the fact that dogs make mistakes, act up, have accidents, etc. At the end of the day, she said ‘we make a difference.’ Each day we can take a dog into rescue, we save their life. We also open a space at the shelters for another unfortunate homeless dog to find a safe space and finally we make families! Not everyone can make a difference in this world, but we do…. Every day! We don’t change the world for everyone, but we do for our dogs and our adoptive families we connect!
We also talked about how my husband and I were ‘in the market’ for a second dog. She said that fostering was a great way to experience all different types and sizes of dogs to get a feel for who would work best in our family dynamic (that means, ‘who will my Chi like’). I was ready, I just had to take a few extra moments to convince the husband.
Once we finalized the application process, we started onboarding. We were so impressed with OPH’s ‘back of the house’ processes, supports, and systems. They had designed their own DMS (Dog Management System) that made tracking, logging, and finding information extremely easy and convenient. Within about two weeks we had selected our first foster and we headed to transport to pick him up the next Friday.
We got into our car with a leash and headed to Pikesville (our spot for pick up). It was like Christmas; we were both so excited. It actually surprised me how excited we were. We met Maximus that night, a leggy pug mix full of love and wiggly butt. He couldn’t have been happier to meet us. Talking to the fosters at transport that night and experiencing the excitement of both humans and dogs alike was sheer joy. I left with such a high off what was possible when dedicated people come together to help animals. I was hooked. There’s no other rush like saving a life!
After fostering 20-30 fosters over the course of the next year (+/-), we fell in love with a foster and decided to foster fail. That’s the rescue term for a foster that decides to adopt one of their foster pups. It’s a good thing! Our new family member, Riggs (OPH name Rooker) continued to manipulate my husband with gentle nudges of his head to the hubby’s hand to demand head and neck massages. Then moved on to requesting to cuddle and fall asleep with him on the couch continuously. He really knew what to do to stay in our house! We became a two Chi household!!!!
I wasn’t done with fostering at this point but was curious how I could do more. At the time I was helping and managing local adoption events, raising small amounts of money, and fostering. I wanted to know more about how rescue worked, how our organization worked internally and with external partners, and how we could do it better to save more lives. I started to talk with more volunteers, joined the shelter pull team, helped to manage regional event teams, helped to manage the social media teams, and finally after being with the rescue for about 2 years, joined the Board of Directors through an invitation from OPH’s founder, Jen Dodge.
With a little less than a decade into my leadership at OPH, I’ve contributed to saving over 10,000+ animals (dogs and cats). That means we’ve opened more than 10,000 more spaces in shelters for homeless animals and we’ve gained 10,000+ humans and their family members in our OPH rescue village.
My curious natural and love of animals continues to drive my passion for saving lives. We continue to foster, rescue, add new partners both domestically and internationally, as well as push the envelope of what excellence means in rescue through OPH. The need for rescue work has never been greater. I hope a part of my journey resonates with you and you choose to challenge yourself to get involved!!!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I would love to say yes, totally smooth… no bumps or issues on my rescue road, but that would be a stretch in the wrong direction.
Rescuing comes with the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. We have a saying in OPH it takes a village. Most people get into rescue because they love animals, but it takes people (a lot of people) to make rescue work. It takes process, money, communications, policies, paperwork, financials, regulations, organization of resources and volunteers, partners… It’s a business. The more lives we saved, the less we could run as a startup. We’ve had to bring on employees to help manage the day-to-day operations and the over 400 active volunteers we have each year. I guess the short of it is we’ve had growing pains. You have to step away from the ‘back-office stuff’ to continue to connect with the people and the animals on the front lines. It helps you remember why you are here and connect to our mission and vision.
You also have to realize that you won’t win every battle. As many lives as we have saved, we have lost some. Some that make it to rescue but we still lose and those that we have to leave behind due to lack of space or resources or available fosters.
People get into rescue to save lives, but you realize quickly that you can’t save everyone… and that’s a tough lesson to learn. I’ve had to help make some impossible decisions over my rescue years; it never gets any easier when you are the one that has to make life-and-death decisions.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Anne Arundel Community College and Gray Space Consulting LLC?
I have worked in the field of Organization Development, Training, and Coaching my entire career. Currently, I run my own consulting company, Gray Space Consulting LLC, as well as work as Anne Arundel Community College’s (AACC) Director of their Corporate Training Group. In both capacities, I work with non-profits, private employers, and government entities in advising them on training strategies for their employees, implementing organizational change, and coaching individuals and groups on achieving their professional goals. Much of my career has centered on strengthening and building leadership and management skills, as well as organizational culture shifts.
I love working at AACC because of the positive impact we have on the organizations we serve, and their employees is similar to my rescue work (it pays forward). The money we charge our clients for our training and business services goes right back into the local economy through the community college and supports the economic stability of the place I live and play.
My own company, Gray Space, gives me the freedom to work with organizations and individuals both in the consulting arena of strategic planning, but more importantly individual coaching. Again, like rescue, I change the world through working with individuals on their challenges and goal attainment. It’s extremely rewarding work. In this area most of my clients are other community colleges, entrepreneurs/business owners, career shifters, and college students.
I guess if I’m known for anything, it’s my ability to build community and brighten up a room wherever I go. I like to ask hard questions and give the hard truth when necessary. I also like a challenge and need to understand how things work, specifically people in structures like organizations. It feeds my insatiable curiosity.
Gray Space Consulting LLC; https://grayspaceleadershipandcoaching.as.me/schedule.php
https://www.facebook.com/Grayspaceleadershipandcoaching
AACC’s Corporate Training Group: https://www.aacc.edu/about/schools-of-study/continuing-education/corporate-training-group/
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
My core values are the most important components to my success:
– Family
– Resilience
– Curiosity
– Fun
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ophrescue.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/operationpawsforhomes/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Operationpawsforhomes
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/operation-paws-for-homes/about/
- Twitter: @OPH_Rescue
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@OPH_Rescue
Image Credits
Rigger
Gunny
