I graduated from UBC with a Bachelor of Arts in English in 1990. I worked as a Special Education Assistant with children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome with the Vancouver School Board from 1990-1994. In January 1995 I attended SFU and completed the professional development program in teaching December 1996. I have worked with the Delta School Board, teaching, from 1996 to present. From 1998-2002, I attended classes part time at UBC and completed a diploma in Special Education. I have taught grades 1, 2, 3, and 4. I was married in 2002 and we had a son in October 2002 and just had a girl January 2005. I am currently on maternity leave from the Delta School Board.

I became involved with Animal Advocates after volunteering with the Vancouver pound and the Burnaby SPCA for a short time. My main concern was watching the huge influx of dogs coming into shelters needing committed, loving homes. These homes are hard to find and for every dog I found a home for, I knew many, many more would be coming in.

I also adopted a fairly difficult dog from the Vancouver pound, (Holly), who suffered separation anxiety and was extremely aggressive with dogs. I attended many dog conferences, and read many books and did all that I could to make sure she would not harm a dog while I was out on walks with her. What struck me was the number of people also living with aggressive dogs. These dogs had the personalities they did due to genetic lines and the way they were treated (Holly had been previously adopted by the Richmond SPCA to people who left Holly outside 24/7 for the first 4 years of her life). It made me realize how vital it is to have breeding by-laws so that the only people breeding are people who are breeding 'sound' dogs with sound genetic lines, and adopting dogs to people who will socialize and treat them properly. To be allowing this 'free for all' where anyone can breed anything and to be given to people who isolate and chain these dogs, is not fair to the dog, to the dog owners, or the general public.

I felt my volunteer work was not making much of an impact on the 'dog world' and have written numerous times to editorials in the paper, calling for the SPCA to do more to protect both dogs and the public by having some kind of breeding by-laws. I admire AAS for the work they do around yard dogs, and for also calling the SPCA to implement some kind of laws to make it harder for backyard breeding to go on.