DENVER — Intake day at the PawsCo headquarters means furry friends getting their check-ups before heading to their temporary homes.
"We do not have our animals in a shelter setting," said Julia Goodman, the senior director of brand management for PawsCo. "We're all foster-based, and that is intentional, because there are so many animals in shelters that are just not thriving in shelters. That's not the place where they can be their best selves. And if they can't be their best selves, they're not going to find homes."
Helping them find their forever home, are volunteers like Lisa Frazer.
"You pull those animals into your home that had no chance anywhere else, and you give them a valid chance of adoption," said Frazer.
And the mission behind PawsCo means the world to her.
"We realize that we can't save them all," Frazer said, "But you can make a difference in one animal's life, just by fostering that animal."
Frazer's made that difference by fostering over one hundred animals since first volunteering here more than a decade ago.
"I could never have 100 animals in my house, but I can move those animals through my house," said Frazer. "Train them, make sure they're healthy, make sure they know what it's like to be loved in a home and then they move on to their forever home."
"She's just always there to remind us [that] we're here, we're helping, we're doing the right thing," recalled Anna Stucky, another volunteer with PawsCo. "And we're making really bad situations, as good as they possibly can be."
And for being a champion for cats and dogs across Colorado, Frazer is being honored as this week's Everyday Hero.
"Volunteer work is a reward in and of itself, and to have this recognition, it is surprising to me and something I didn't expect," said Frazer. "And I really, really appreciate it."
Denver7 features a different Everyday Hero each week. To nominate a hero in your life, click here.
