Board of Directors
Tracey
Founding Member/Chairperson
Tracey was a Founding Member of pause4change in 2012.
She had a vision to create a rescue that would help shape the industry with more collaboration; working together to make a positive impact for the animals and our communities.
Tracey currently has two dogs who have taught her so much about setting up dogs that have fearful and shy behaviours for success.
Her #1 dog friendly place in Calgary is her own home, which is always full of rescues and amazing people that drop by to socialize and assist with many puppy needs. Everyone is welcome and the dogs love it!
"Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole."
Kirstie
Founding Member/Director
Kirstie was one of the Founding Members of pause4change in 2012
She was involved with creating pause4change because she wanted to make a difference in the rescue community and to do her best to do the right thing for the animals she helps.
Kirstie leads volunteer intake, the vaccination team and the pauseit4ward pet food bank program within pause4change.
She has 4 rescue dogs of her own - Jasmine age 9, Shilo age 9, Mischa age 8 & Kora age 2 as well as a rescue cat named Misfit.
Kirstie recommends checking out Tail Blazers Copperfield/Legacy pet stores, Dogma Daycare and Dogwit for training in Calgary.
Katie
Director
Katie has been with pause4change for 6 years and is the Events & Fundraising Coordinator.
Katie was attracted to pause4change’s vision and values, the quality and care we give every rescue animal and the amazing group of volunteers who are all so caring, compassionate, generous, and are a lot of fun to work along side with.
Katie shares her home with pause4change alumni, Mya, her sweet senior pup. She loves the simple things in life like rolling in grass or snow, going for walks, camping and taking lots of naps! Katie also fosters cats for pausechange.
"Everyone thinks they have the best dog. And none of them are wrong"
Jaymi
Director
Jaymi has been with pause4change for around 4 years and is the Dog Adoptions Coordinator
& member of the vaccination team.
She loves pause4change because we believe in quality over quantity. Each dog is placed in a foster
home where they get the time and attention they need and deserve. We don't take shortcuts on veterinary care or training, every animals needs are met on a case by case basis. She also believes we have some of the kindest most giving volunteers, who have now become her second family.
Jaymi has 2 dogs of her own - Rooney is her 4 year old Shepherd Cross. He is a sensitive soul that struggles with dog reactivity and resource guarding. He is the reason she got involved in the rescue world and sparked her passion for learning about all the benefits of positive reinforcement training. Bella is her 9 year old Siberian Husky and a pause4change alumni. She is super sassy and high maintenance but referred to as the jackpot dog in the house because they feel like they won the lottery the day she chose them to be her family!
Jaymi recommends checking out Play Unleashed in Balzac for private off-leash fun with your dogs.
"You can't change a dogs past, but you can rewrite their future!"
Albert
Director
Albert has been with pause4change for around 2 years. He became involved with the organisation
as he was impressed by how honest & friendly everyone is and the diligence of the adoption
process.
Albert is the go-to tech guy for pause4change and also an active foster home. He volunteers in
many different areas and gets involved whenever and wherever he is needed!
Albert has 2 dogs of his own - Cedric is his resident middle aged dog, he is patient and protects the house and all the residents, including the cat. Cleo is the puppy and a recent addition to the family - she was adopted from pause4change. Pickles is his rescued cat. She is 1.5 years old and is the mischevious and sassy type. She educates the foster puppies on boundaries with cats and educates the family on cat behaviour. She is the ninja in the house.
Albert recommends checking out Vin Room on 85th for their dog friendly patio in the summer!
Stephanie
Director
Stephanie has been with pause4change for 3 years and is the Social Media Coordinator. She also does post adoption follow ups and screening.
Stephanie chose pause4change because their values aligned more with her own. She feels proper training and responsible pet ownership is important to helping create a better world for our animals and wants to help make as much of a difference as she can!
Stephanie adopted her dog, Laska in 2019 as a foster fail. Laska is a big goofy fluff ball and is her best friend. Stephanie can’t image her life without her!
Stephanie recommends Play Unleashed (near Airdrie) as a great place to go to with your pup. Play Unleashed is a private, off leash dog park that you can rent for your furry family!
Lira
Director
Lira has been with Pause4change for a year and a half. Lira is the adoption events coordinator and fosters dogs with pause4change .
Lira chose pause4change because of their values and commitment to animals. They go above and beyond and will stop at nothing to help animals. Lira likes their volunteer team and she is happy she gets to help animals while meeting new human friends.
Lira shares her home with Dempsey, her 5 year old spunky cat, who shares his home with 2 dogs. Cybil, her 5 year old dog, who is sweet and gentle and is always a Mama bear to the other animals. Spinelli, her year and a half dog, who was a foster win with pause4change and always loves to have a foster pup to play with. Last but not least her fiancé soon to be husband who sometimes gets room on the couch.
Lira loves spending time with all her animals, watching movies, camping and spending time with family.
"A true friend leaves paw prints on your heart"
Drae
Director
Drae has been involved with pause4change since 2012 and joined the Board of Directors in 2022 as our Education and Dog Behaviour Coordinator. She originally became involved with pause4change as a training partner and has assisted countless pause4change adoptive and foster families with behaviour support over the years. Drae holds the CBCC-KA (Certified Behaviour Consultant Canine- Knowledge Assessed) and FDM (Family Dog Mediator) certifications and is a certified SAPro Trainer (Separation Anxiety). Being a strong advocate for behaviour education, her values naturally aligned with those of pause4change right from the start!
Drae shares her life with a 16 year old shepherd mix named Diego, and a 16 year old cat named Presley. Diego is the “Why" behind Drae’s passion for dog-friendly behaviour support and continues to teach and inspire daily. He has gone through many challenges in his life, from being diagnosed as blind when he was 2, to working through reactivity and fear concerns, to undergoing emergency surgery for GDV (bloat) at age 13. He has a true love of life and has been a spectacular sidekick. Presley is a wonderfully social cat who is always up for a training game. He has an outstanding recall and would never miss the chance to feast on freeze-dried liver.
“The greatest pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you but he will make a fool of himself too.” ~Samuel Butler
