United Hope for Animals has really grown in the last couple of years and a writer at the Examiner has taken notice. Laura Knighten, the director of UHA’s Shelter Support Program, was interviewed recently about her role in the organization, and about the challenges ahead for UHA and the dogs we help get rescued.

Here is an excerpt from Laura’s interview:

We partner with high-intake shelters and facilitate adoptions and rescues through a few private events. One is Glamour Shot Day. Professional photographers volunteer their time to photograph and make videos of the dogs. Our volunteers groom the dogs, set up tents and backdrops, and handle the dogs for the photos and videos. The Glamour Shots get people’s attention, and the videos show each dog interacting, so you get a good sense of the dog’s personality and temperament.

Volunteers write the descriptions of the dogs and work behind the scenes afterward to upload the profiles to websites. Adoption coordinators volunteer to facilitate adoptions and rescues and connect people to the right shelter pet. Our philosophy is that there are a lot of great dogs and a lot of great homes, but not every dog is the right fit for every home. We try to match the right person with the right dog. It can be overwhelming if you go into a shelter and you aren’t familiar with the environment. You see hundreds of dogs and you don’t know which one is the one for you. 

To read more of Laura’s interview, on the Examiner.com website here.