Our Team

Meet Our Team

Laurie Hood
Founder and President

Taylor Hood
Vice President of Operations

Laura McManus
Director of Operations

Kimberley Johnson
Human Resource & Data Manager

Robin Anchors
Lead Adoption Coordinator

Kim Gonczol
Adoption Coordinator

Haley Rhodes
Adoption Coordinator

Kat Vincent
Foster Coordinator

Wendy Dell
Volunteer Coordinator

Claire Edwards
Social Media Coordinator

Ruth Patterson
Retail Manager & Administrative Assistant

Lori Hussey
Administrative Assistant

Dr. Jim Smith
Veterinarian

Dr. Raeven Carlson
Veterinarian

Tifney Ryals
Clinic Manager

Rebecca Bargy
Veterinary Technician

Elizabeth Wolf
Large Animal Veterinary Technician

Danielle LaMarre
Large Animal Veterinary Technician

Heidi Porter
Animal Care Technician

Alissa Parsons
Outside Manager

Ashley Englehart
Animal Behavior & Enrichment Manager

Cory LeBoff
Outside Coordinator

Brenda Champlain
Feline Ambassador

Miranda Adkison
Exotic Bird Ambassador

Lindsie Zemanick
Equine Specialist

Kaitlin Pluskis
Animal Care Technician

Esmeralda Serna
Animal Care Technician

Rebecca Pinkham
Animal Care Technician

Victoria Miller
Animal Care Technician

Millie McFaden
Animal Care Technician

Ken Rose
Animal Care Technician

Riley Owen
Animal Care Technician

Josh Price
Animal Care Technician

Shelby Proie
Wildlife Director

Andrea Diessner
Lead Wildlife Rehabilitator

Alana Tiller
Wildlife Specialist

Chris Teboe
Wildlife Specialist

Tyler Brown
Wildlife Specialist

Amira Zelei

23:56 18 Mar 22

Everything about this place I love!!!! Amazing experience. Because of everything they do, we now have a new addition to... the family💙read more

Cynthia Ellis

15:11 12 Feb 22

All I can say is wow. This place is amazing. Their new facility is gorgeous. All the animals are so happy. Plenty of... space to get to know your potential adoptee. Not your average ‘shelter/kennel’… I highly recommend Alaqua to anyone looking for their next fur-ever bff!Keep up the fantastic work Alaqua !😊read more

Karen Hollis

16:57 09 Feb 22

Wonderful new facility! Volunteers work tirelessly to care for and comfort animals rescued, found, or in need of... temporary shelter pending adoption.They need more volunteers to cuddle, socialize, walk and play with pets. Also need donations of old pillows, towels and blankets. 💕read more

BrittEQ

02:01 19 Jan 22

Hey this is Britt.I will no longer be volunteering at alaqua anymore due to the fact that the equine specialist and... other staff members at Alaqua have made my experience at Alaqua very unpleasant. Number 1-The staff are very rude and not concerned about caring for there volunteers. Number 2- Alaqua in itself is not organized. Number 3- Farm animal zone you cannot be involved with the animals. Number 4- Nobody wears masks.Please take my name off the volunteer sign up list.read more

Lisa Sharp

03:04 08 Jan 22

Very helpful in finding what I need and knowledgeable of items I need. They give great advice for first time chinchilla... owner. They helped me find the right product for a friend's rabbit. If I have any pet concerns I feel comfortable going to Alaska for answers. Now if they could teach a roommate what gender their guinea pigs are before adopting them, I'd really love them but they don't carry a crystal ball around to see where she went to get them...SMHread more

Ariel Josker

22:04 18 Dec 21

This place is immaculate! We were thoroughly impressed with the cleanliness, upkeep, and visibility of this shelter.... These animals seriously have it better than most pets I know. All of the cats we saw were so happy and we’ll taken care of. None of them seemed starved for attention yet they all were personable and friendly. We had the hardest time choosing which cat to bring to their forever home! I would HIGHLY recommend this place and which I had funds to donate to them.read more

Pauline Rosenbalm

02:45 28 Nov 21

We adopted a sweet dog our Skippy alitte over 3 yrs from Alaqua, He is so sweet, but under some circumstances we had to... re-home him. We took him Wednesday the day before Thanksgiving. It was so hard he was our fur baby and campanion. I'm praying he gets a good loving family. They will fall in love with him. We will forever miss our Skippy. Alaqua's staff are wonderful people. They tried to make it easier on us. He didn't want us to leave him. It broke our hearts. But I know they will find him a good home. We will forever miss our Skippy. And if we ever get another fur baby we will go through them. Thank you so much. Renae and Kevin Rosenbalm. 🐾💔😢read more

Angel and Patrick

17:20 10 Nov 21

I absolutely love this placeI volunteer here 1 day a week and to get to work with these sweet fur babies is amazing

Simon Parducci

17:04 01 Sep 21

Very cool place. I really respect what they do.

Tara Marino

22:54 21 Jun 21

The people are so nice and really care about all the animals. I was definitely impressed and will recommend and gladly... work with them in the future.read more

R LIND

15:30 12 Jun 21

This is a great place that rescues all types of animals brings them back to health and finds adoptive homes.

Randy Moss

23:01 29 May 21

It was an amazing dayThe devotion of the employees and volunteers is very evident. The care they give the animals is... superb. It was an honor to donate some cat food and litterI kinda suspect that my wife is going to lobby for us to volunteer, which wouldn't be a bad thing. . .read more

Sara McCabe

08:16 11 May 21

Most caring and well-run shelter for animals I have ever seen.

Jeanne S

15:25 27 Apr 21

Abby and Laura never watched us interact with Lucy, an Australian Shepherd, only Robin did. Abby then told us we... weren’t allowed to adopt Lucy, since we “weren’t a good fit,” and Laura backed her up.Laura also lied about Florida dog law, saying that Lucy had bitten before and so would be un-adoptable if she bit again. This is not a law.This is also illegal; if Lucy had a biting incident, the shelter is legally bound to report her as a dangerous animal, which they did not do. Again, they failed their legal reporting duty as a shelter, for at least two dogs at the time we visited.This shelter only wants animals to go to wealthy, land-owning families where the animals can avoid their behavior issues and not be trained.read more

Jennifer Geraci

11:15 09 Apr 21

Safe haven for all animals. And a great place for families to find their special fur baby!

Nicky Starr

22:36 02 Apr 21

Such a great place. The staff and volunteers are so friendly, and it is such a good cause. The animals are well taken... care of and loved here. The ambassadors will give you a tour of the place and give you a history of Alaqua. Highly recommend visiting.read more

Dorothy Mullis

14:11 18 Mar 21

Still MissingSomehow that one star is to much credit where no credit is due. I will try to sum up the details of a... very long and painful two weeks of a very important time in my life.We lost our fences, home, office, work equipment, 2 children kidnapped (by their biological mother), 6 puppies, a chicken, and 5 kittens to hurricane Michael and the aftermath. We found a safe place to regroup in Destin, Florida. Like most condos pets were not allowed. 2 hours of driving each way to get home. We have or had 8 dogs then. Because of the 2 parent dogs and (6) 8 month old Labrador retriever puppies, 3 kids, and my husband and I we rode out Michael at home in Overstreet, Fl. All went as good as can be expected. We lived! My husband is the volunteer fire chief here so he was called into duty as soon as it passed. We still argue about what order the events should have taken place. I needed my fences fixed on our 5 acres. The community needed communication, food, water, and fuel to survive. My husbands father is the Mayor in Mexico Beach to top things off. After 6 weeks we were just shells of the people who we once were. Depressed, anxious, stressed, scared, homeless, job less, and overwhelmed.In the last two weeks at home we had a predator stalking my puppies. Large tracks inside my yard and around my fire pit. The daddy dog Boss was slapped one time. Four slices to his ear and face at 10 pm on Friday night. Bleeding was not controlled and I was alone. I locked up the pups in my bathroom. Ran to my truck and then took down the gate on my way out. 1200 later after a visit to the Freeport pet er. Boss would make a full recovery with lots more effort.Anyway my husband surrendered my babies to ALAQUA ANIMAL REFUGE 12 days later. He thought it was in our best interest but he was wrong. I had a melt down that night. Begging through voicemails and emails to please let me adopt my puppies back. No response!I called the office first thing. Only I was not getting a good vibe at all. I was asked to stay off the property until the adoption team reviewed the information. I was willing to pay all fees. Even decided on a fence down the middle of our property if my husband didn't start thinking more clearly. He came around though.My kids are absent from school for almost two months now. My two youngest arecoming back from psycho land for Christmas and I had to break the news to them about our puppies. At the time I was pretty sure that I was getting a inflated bill but I had no doubt about getting the pups. The eve of Christmas eve my daughter and I were doing finishing touches on my property in order for the pups to be comfortable. Thats when the games began. Like children on the phone lines ALAQUA acted. We called like 30 times. Transferred, disconnected, placed on hold, or just not even answering. The first smile i had in months sunk deep into my stomach. I told my daughter that I assumed the worst and we hope for the best. That carried over to Christmas Eve. We were up waiting on a call from the founders husband, Taylor Hood. He was the leader in this entire process. He called with this .... I apologize, for they have been adopted out already. The cages were tagged with signs saying not for adoption. He didn't like it when I aired this out on Facebook. Like I hoped. My husband was offered to come adopt the black one back. We have her and I have no idea what happened to the rest. They played games with us in our worst possible time. Added unnecessary pain for their own benefit. They are not stable at all and I would never recommend that you go there. MISSING 4 YELLOW LABS ALL ONE YEAR OLD.read more

Joanna Bush

16:51 15 Mar 21

These people are awesome!! Everyone is super nice and they treat their animals with love, attention and patience!!!

Beth Carroll

17:52 06 Mar 21

Amazing as always! Shelby and Whitney and the team were all out doing their usual magic!

V White

19:32 23 Jan 21

What a great service Alaqua provides! Very responsive to inquiries. I didn't realize they have so many different types... of animals. They're on 10 acres, but are moving to another location with 100 acres. We looked at a puppy this morning, but decided to wait. They were very kind, helpful, and patient. Highly recommended and appreciated. I will be donating to their wonderful cause.read more

Deborah Glover

00:42 29 Dec 20

Amazing non-profit organization helping an array of animals! Very Impressive

Marika Sand

18:29 17 Dec 20

Everyone there was extremely nice and patient with us during the adoption process. This place is wonderful and I highly... recommend it if you're looking to adopt a new animal.read more

Jenni Carico

19:53 06 Dec 20

Amazing faciliy! Happy people and animals.. great areas for each species. Full staff and a ton of volunteers. Very... impressed!read more

Wendy Tolbert

20:30 14 Nov 20

What a wonderful place this is, the grounds are lovely and very well maintained. The animals all look healthy and very... happy. The staff and volunteers are all super helpful and friendly.We have adopted pets from a shelter in the past and it was like breaking them out of prison. It usually took weeks or months for them to feel safe.Thank you Alaqua, for allowing us to have the best pet ever, you deserve all the support you can get and we will be donating regularly if we didn't live 2 hours away, I would be a volunteer myself!read more

Samantha Morissette

07:50 08 Nov 20

Seemed like a nice shelter. Couldn't drop our cats off here but otherwise seemed like a happy place for the animals.

Eric Rosenbloom

01:42 05 Sep 20

Wonderful facility for animals in need of loving homes.

Glenn Hotz

03:14 23 Aug 20

We had a very extremely positive experience with rescue center. We sent in our application for adoption of 5½ year old... Dachshund named Daisy. We were contacted the next day thanking us for the application explaining their process. They contacted us on Wednesday 3 days after our application to let us know we were approved. We setup appt time on Friday for meet and greet needless to say we fell in love with Daisy and agreed to adopt her. She's very sweet loving and cuddle buddy. She is getting along well with our other 2 Dachshunds. The staff were very courteous and the Vet went over care of Daisy's skin condition. To anyone looking to adopt i highly recommend this rescue facility. We will definitely look to rescue from them again,read more

Khristina Gilbert

16:54 20 Aug 20

We adopted our sweet dog Nova from Alaqua. This team of people were the nicest to work with and even during this... pandemic were willing to work with us. We drove up for our meet & greet with Nova and immediately knew she was the one for us. They had provided her with a few months of training and that was a huge help when we got her home. Nova has been with us for a few months and fits in perfectly with our family. We have been recommending Alaqua to everyone we know because of how great our experience has been with them.read more

Michael Fagen

03:38 10 Aug 20

I found my new puppy from Alaqua. Robin the head of odoption was AWESOME ! The adoption process was easy the price was... right on and it was just very easy to work with them . I traveled from Oldsmar FL to Freeport FL a bit over 6 hours each way so the place is well worth it . Please adopt a pet for yourself or family you will feel wonderful and have a new loving animal added to your family . I can't thank Robin and all that work there enough for letting me adopt Mickey. I appreciate you all !! 👍👍✌ I will send pictures as he grows .read more

Cameron Smith

01:29 06 Jun 20

An amazing place. Amazing group of folks. Remember to be responsible when adopting pets. They need forever homes.

Jay Alden

15:44 10 Mar 20

Than you for my sweet boy Gumbeaux. He brings me so much joy! The facility and all those involved are great. I can't... tell you how much I appreciate your help in making this adoption possible. Rescue your new best friend from Alaqua Animal Refuge every time!read more

Chelsea Rager

14:42 25 Feb 20

We visited on a field trip and I was blown away. This rescue property is so well maintained and, as far as animals go,... they have a little of everything.... including horses, emu, pigs, Turkey, goats, sheep. They were teeming with staff and volunteers taking care of the obviously well-loved animals. If you are looking to adopt a pet, this is the place to go. Adoption fees range from free (for cats 6+ months) to $200 (for puppies) and pay for all the animals to be up to date on their veterinary care. They also accept monetary and supply donations.read more

Blue Mountain Bees

04:28 25 Feb 20

The facility and entire operation is top notch! We’ve adopted several animals over the years; 2 from here. The care of... animals and follow is unlike any other. We ❤️❤️❤️❤️ our Alaqua rescues and appreciate the constant follow up by team.read more

Alex Foxx

05:00 22 Feb 20

This is THE most amazing animal refuge/shelter I have ever seen for domestic and companion animals. I usually have a... very hard time seeing animals in shelters, but this is the exception. The grounds are clean, the animals are all well cared for, and the staff and volunteers clearly care about all the animals there. Many come from highly abusive situations and are now getting the nurturing and attention they need on their eventual journey to finding their forever homes. If I lived closer, I would definitely volunteer.read more

leonard xxxxxxx

01:03 19 Sep 19

These people really care about animals. A no kill shelter. You can sign up for adoption and get monthly notices on... dog's, cat's or any animal you chooseread more

Our Team

About Us

Meet Our Team

Connect With Us

Alaqua Animal Refuge Inc.

Hours of Operation