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As a two-time cancer survivor, there is very little that takes me down. I live in New York, have worked for the best artists, galleries, and magazines and have excelled at my career. I have held senior positions at Glamour Magazine, Vanity Fair, Oprah and SELF, to name a few, and even worked for the renowned artist Robert Mapplethorpe. If something bad or challenging comes my way, I face it head on. Unflappable to a fault, you might say.

That is, until my dogs made an impression on my life.

Enter Edie, Clair, and Gus…All beautiful purebred (or so I thought) store bought perfect dogs. Did I say perfect? They had me at bark.

With all the love I was feeling, I wasn’t prepared for some of the backlash I received from my amazing dog trainer, my brother, photographers that I met at work. What was I thinking buying dogs, especially when so many strays needed homes?

Shortly after the backlash, I was fortunate enough to go on a vacation to Turks ands Caicos (lucky me!). Little did I know I’d spend the better part of my vacation gaining the trust of a stray beach dog, ultimately convincing her to allow me to save her pups from the tough and usually deadly life on the streets. Down there, adult dogs are government property so they are not able to be willingly picked up and taken to be neutered. Instead they face a much worse fate, so it was important to me to save the pups..

So, how did this event translate in my so-called real life?

When I came home, I left my glamorous job and started a website dedicated to dog and animal awareness, - WWW.MRSSIZZLE.COM. My very own dogs, store bought or not, became my heroes. They showed me unconditional love and taught me that no animal should suffer and every animal should have a home. They should be loved and we should all realize that every moment matters. These furs are my heroes and they deserve to be treated well.