All My Children Wear Fur Coats had the pleasure of speaking with Susan Kurowski, Executive Director, of Pets for The Elderly Foundation. Susan joined Pets for the Elderly in January 2006. She was hired as a grant writer and accountant, but quickly took on more responsibility. She has been the Executive Director of the Pets for the Elderly Foundation since January of 2009. Susan is married, has three adult children, five grandchildren, and is currently the proud parent of two rescue dogs. Read more
As caregivers of disabled dogs for the past 20 years, Eddie and Leslie Grinnell knew what they wanted for their pets: a wheelchair designed for on and off-road play that would allow their pets to enjoy a good quality of life while they healed. A mechanical engineer by trade, Ed’s revolutionary design has been endorsed by veterinarians, rehab practitioners and canine chiropractors. It all started 33 years ago with their blue Doberman, Buddha. For years, she had been Eddie’s guard dog. In 1989 Buddha, at the age of 10, lost the use of her rear legs due to spondylosis and disc disease. Ed and Leslie were faced with the choice of a expensive risky surgery, or euthanizing her. She was not in pain nor depressed, so euthanizing her was not an option. They decided to give her time to heal by giving her anti-inflammatories and started researching wheelchairs. Read more
Katrina Shadix started her career in bear rights advocacy during the 2015 Bear Hunting Season where she successfully organized a campaign to stop the hunt of the Florida Black Bear. In 2020 Katrina’s bear poaching bill was passed with 100% bipartisan support and was signed into law by Gov. DeSantis. Her efforts now include the nutrient pollution crisis in the Indian River Lagoon where she is pressing legislators to expand the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission’s feeding program for manatees. In addition to being the Executive Director of Bear Warriors United, she serves on several boards including The Foundation for Florida Environmental Protection, The Central Florida Expressway Environmental Advisory Group, serving also as the Chair of the Environmental Advisory Board for Seminole County and the President of Sustainability Leaders Initiative.
Monisha Seth is a retired internal medicine physician with AdventHealth Medical Group in Winter Park, Florida. She and her husband Anthony founded Franklin’s Friends in 2003 after adopting their first dog Franklin from the SPCA of Central Florida. They are now the proud parents of 3 rescued hounds – Winston, Lincoln, and Jolene. Franklin’s Friends is an all-volunteer 501c3 nonprofit organization. Their mission is to support Central Florida animal welfare by awarding grants to local nonprofit and government agencies that are dedicated to Shelter/Rescue, Spay/Neuter, or Community Education projects.