Spotlight on Emily Kennedy, the Multi-Tasker

Emily is originally from Portsmouth Virginia, she moved to Florida at the age of 4.   She is currently a Junior in High School, and is dual enrollment, taking college classes (even during her summer break).

At the beginning of summer, I found myself slammed with work, and struggling to create a better system.  Emily’s skills were quickly appreciated!  She started updating our adoption calendar.

Once Emily got the hang of updating the calendar, she took on even more responsibility, by going back through two years worth of adoptions and adding the links to the dogs’ Facebook photo album and the dogs’ blog post.  What we thought would take months to do, took less than a week.  After realizing what a mess my filing system was in, she re-organized that too!

One morning, she called me in a panic and said there was a baby kitten outside of her English class.  “I can see it under the bushes, it’s crying,” she said.  I asked her if she can simply go scoop it up…. but what the heck am I going to do with a cat?  “It hisses at us when we get near, but it’s shivering,” she said.  This take-charge young lady asked her guidance counselor for a box, a towel, and some plastic gloves.  She got that kitten, and found a student who would drive the kitten to me… but what the heck am I going to do with a cat?  The kitten was so tiny, I took him straight to Val-U-Vet.  Dr. Oliver estimated the kitten to be only 3 weeks.  After buying a kitten hut, milk, and kitten food, I drove home thinking… but what the heck am I going to do with a cat?   I had him micro chipped and named him Tuff Nut!

After I picked up the kids from school, I had to listen to the dreaded words that make every rescuer cringe, “CAN WE KEEP IT?”  The answer was NO!  I called Cathy McIlroy, to foster the cat, and thank goodness she said yes.  My plan was not to call Cathy… don’t ask for updates… and hope that she would keep him.  Several weeks passed, and I knew that it was time to talk about vaccinations and neuter.  My phone rang, and Cathy asked me if she could keep him!  Hallelujah!

When the Poodle, Jean Luc came to me, Emily had a very hard time.  She brought him home to meet her family, and came to visit him every day.  That’s her dream dog, and even though the time isn’t right for her now, I know that when it is, I’ll help her find that perfect dog, just like Jean Luc!

But that’s not all.  There was that one day… the day that a friend called me in a panic, trying to get dogs out of a puppy mill.  The same place that Jordan’s Prize and Zeus came from, and six dogs were being confiscated, and I knew the dogs were going to be in very bad shape.

Emily asked me if I had work for her that morning… instead of doing office work, I asked her to come with me.  What better way for her to see for herself how important our work really is.  The Jail Breakwas a success and the dogs were on their way straight to the vet.  One by one, Emily helped carry the dogs into the clinic,   and and for the days and weeks to come, she has followed their progress.

It seemed that each week I kept adding more and more responsibility to Emily’s plate.  Her multi-tasking skills proved that nothing was truly a challenge!  She started entering microchip information onto our PetFinder site, registering micro chips with Petfinder, and today, she’s ordering the “Mastering Leadership” DVD for adopters.

Because Emily has been my friend and neighbor for many years, she not only knew my previous dogs, Reckless and Tinsel Town, but we were friends years before I ever even started this thing we call rescue.  She has had the opportunity to meet many of the rescued dogs, including Nutella, Pebbles, and of course Goldie Hawn.  So this is more than just internet or paperwork to her.  When she sees a photo of a dog that she recognizes, we spend time reminiscing!

Soon, we are going to implement new enhancements to our customer service, and Emily will be spearheading that as well!  Her help has made a huge impact on the rescue, and as we continue to improve our processes, she’s always ready to make it work!

Emily is the master of using her time wisely.  The new school year has just started, and she is determined to finish her High School courses through Florida Virtual School.  She will have her associates degree by the time she finishes high school, and she plans to attend UCF to get her bachelor’s degree.  She Emily hopes to major in psychology, and last we spoke she mentioned joining the Navy for medical school!

THANK YOU EMILY!