Scranton woman saves hundreds of dogs by starting nonprofit group BY CORRINE DIGIOVINEPublished: May 25, 2014 ARTICLE TOOLS FONT SIZE: [A] [A] [A] SHARE ON FACEBOOK SHARE ON TWITTER SHARE ON GOOGLE SHARE ON LINKEDIN SHARE ON EMAIL SHARE ON PRINT MORE SHARING SERVICES 0 OUR SOCIAL NETWORKSFacebook Twitter FACEBOOK SIGN UP TEXT ALERTS | NEWSLETTER Photo: N/A, License: N/A, Created: 2013:05:12 12:30:35 JAKE DANNA STEVENS / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Debbie Stezar has rescued more than 1,000 dogs through One Life to Live Pet Rescue and Adoption Inc. Among the dogs sharing her Scranton home are Pinky Lee, top; Zevon, left; and Yoshi. Meet Debbie Stezar At home: She lives in Scranton with her husband, Ed, and eight dogs, two cats and a parrot. At work: Founder of One Life to Live Pet Rescue and Adoption Inc. Aspirations: For One Life to Live to reach 2,000 adoptions and to raise awareness of the importance of spaying and neutering pets and of how many dogs are euthanized each day Diversions: Family, friends and taking dogs for walks Aversions: Dishonesty and the number of people who surrender their dogs because of changed circumstances Quote: “I looked at all the caged animals ... the castoffs of human society. I saw in their eyes love and hope, fear and dread, sadness and betrayal. I was angry. ‘God,’ I said. ‘This is terrible. Why don’t you do something?’ God was silent for a moment and then he spoke softly. ‘I have done something ... I created you.” — Jim Willis More than 1,000 dogs have avoided euthanasia since 2009 because of Scranton resident Debbie Stezar’s dedication to One Life to Live Pet Rescue and Adoption Inc. Her love for dogs and dog rescue has turned into a full-time job, keeping her busy at her Hill Section home where she works to save furry friends along the East Coast. Mrs. Stezar, 61, who held various office jobs before deciding to work with dogs and devote her life to dog rescue, already had volunteered with several other rescues before starting the nonprofit group. In addition to taking an animal behavior and dog training course, she volunteered at Lackawanna Humane Society, now Griffin Pond Animal Shelter, and also took her Therapy Dog International certified dogs — Courtney, Emily and Zebon — to meet the public at nursing homes and libraries for five years. Love of dogs “I have loved dogs for as long as I could remember,” Mrs. Stezar said. “I think I reached the point in my life where I realized that if I’m going to be working, I needed something I wanted to do.” Her experiences gave her the confidence to form her own organization in which she could incorporate her own ideas, and she started One Life to Live in April 2009. Although it does rescue dogs from owners who surrender them, One Life To Live’s foremost aim is to save dogs from high-kill animal shelters. Volunteers work with many animal shelters in the northeast and southern United States. “Many dogs are to be euthanized simply because they are taking up too much space,” Mrs. Stezar said. Volunteers dedicate their time to what Mrs. Stezar refers to as a “transportation relay,” in which they drive dogs from animal shelters to other volunteers throughout the northeast United States, who care for the dogs for a few days until One Life to Live volunteers then take the dogs into their homes for fostering. Mrs. Stezar estimated about 25 people volunteer their residences to serve as One Life to Live foster homes. “Foster homes are the heart and soul of the organization,” Mrs. Stezar said. “We are always looking for more foster homes.” Mrs. Stezar works full time for One Life to Live from her home, where she lives with her husband, Ed, plus three foster dogs, five of her own dogs, two cats and a parrot. “I always swore that when I had my own house, I’d have as many animals as I can,” Mrs. Stezar said. Her family — which includes four children and three grandchildren — helps with the dogs, and her husband serves as the rescue’s treasurer and helps with every aspect of the group. “He does almost all of the housework, so I have time to rescue,” Mrs. Stezar said. A standard workday for Mrs. Stezar consists of answering phone calls and emails from shelters and potential adopters, sorting through adoption applications, sending volunteers to visit potential adopters’ homes, writing adoption contracts, caring for foster dogs and planning events. She said she is dedicated to screening and choosing adoption candidates, and she encourages candidates to foster a dog before adopting it to make sure they are the best match. “The goal is to put the right dog in the right home,” Mrs. Stezar said. Hitting a milestone One Life to Live has rescued 1,060 dogs in the past five years, hitting the 1,000-dog milestone in February. Mrs. Stezar attributed the group’s success in part to Dr. Robert Noto, a veterinarian at Memorial Veterinary Hospital in Dickson City and a member of the group’s board of directors, as well as the number of volunteers. “Whenever you do anything from your heart, it works out,” Mrs. Stezar said. “We have a lot of phenomenal volunteers who try hard to place dogs in appropriate homes.” Contact the writer: lifestyles@timesshamrock TO NOMINATE A NORTHEAST WOMAN , please submit requests via email to lifestyles@times shamrock or mail them to Northeast Woman Nominations, The Sunday Times, 149 Penn Ave., Scranton, PA 18503. Please include the woman’s name, address and the reason the reader feels the woman is deserving. Those submit ting need to include their name and a daytime phone number. We welcome user discussion on our site, under the following guidelines: To comment you must first create a profile and sign-in with a verified DISQUS account or social network ID. Sign up here. 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Posted on: Mon, 26 May 2014 02:03:13 +0000
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