Saving Lives... One Dog at a Time!
Board of Directors
All For Love Animal Rescue, Inc. (AFLAR) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit all-volunteer animal rescue group. All of the positions (Board members, adminstrative, dog walkers, transporters, etc.) are filled by people generously donating their time. No one receives a salary or any compensation, for their work on behalf of AFLAR.
Maripat Davis—Founder and President, Rescue Coordinator, Medical Care Manager
Maripat Davis has always been passionate about animals. She grew up in a family that was always full of dogs and cats, and remembers rescuing many strays over the years and making them part of the family. Explaining how she got into animal rescue, Maripat says "it was early in 2009, and one of my musician friends emailed me a plea for a dog that was at an L.A. shelter and going to be killed at the end of the day. Not realizing that this happens every day at shelters across the country, I was horrified. I picked up the phone and called the shelter. I got an extension until the next afternoon. Long story short, this dog was adopted 20 minutes before I arrived at the shelter to pick him up! The supervisor told me that if I hadn't called, he would have been killed rather than adopted. A light bulb went off in my head, and I suddenly realized the power of one person and one action.
“Two days later, my young son Patrick and I headed to our local shelter in Camarillo, California, and became volunteers with a rescue organization. Within a few short months, I was rescuing and fostering dogs. I recruited and organized over 30 foster homes, held weekly adoption events, and pulled dogs from the shelter on a weekly basis. I met my first pit bull, Guiness, and fell in love! Then I found out that most of the pit bulls didn’t make it out of the shelter. There were not enough homes for them, and they were killed weekly for space. It was heartbreaking, and I felt powerless to save them. I started going to the shelter five days a week, in between my own work schedule, and soon I was working night and day meeting the dogs, taking their photographs, finding foster homes, emailing pleas, networking them to rescues, and raising money for boarding and for dogs with medical needs.
"Rescuing dogs took over my life. My little boy was my helper, and he fell in love with many of the dogs, including another pit bull named Cinnamon, whom we fostered for several months until she got her forever home. As it became painfully clear to me that pit bulls were the first to be euthanized, and yet were some of the sweetest dogs I had ever met, I began to concentrate on them. In a relatively short time, I became the main rescuer getting them out of the the shelter. I couldn't let go of this responsibility, because it was clear that they had no voice, and no one fighting for them. I truly love all animals, and I rescue all breeds of dogs, including many Chihuahua mixes that are at the shelter. But I made a promise to myself that I would stand up for pit bulls and try to save as many of these precious lives as I could."
Maripat is a singer and actress by profession, and is also Director of the Actors & Singers Studio in Thousand Oaks.
Kathleen MacGregor—Vice President and Adoption Coordinator
Kathleen has always loved animals of all shapes and sizes. She helped her first stray cat, when she was 12. Since age 17, she has never been without a kitty (or two, or three, or four) as companions. “They always knew where to find me,” she says. In 2005, her daughter rescued two pit bulls in need of a home, and Kathleen fell in love with them, and the breed. Over the next few years, she learned about the national tragedy happening to shelter animals, and pit bulls in particular. Her heart was broken for this wonderful breed, and the 4 to 5 million animals euthanized in shelters every year. She volunteered at her local animal shelter, hoping to save lives and to work for the day when the shelter would adopt a No Kill policy. Her experience there was very difficult, as many animals were still being euthanized. She heard about an independent rescuer named Maripat Davis, who was helping save pit bulls, and other difficult to adopt shelter animals. Kathleen soon began working with Maripat, and in 2011, AFLAR became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit rescue.
When not working for AFLAR, Kathleen is a licensed Five Element Acupuncturist, with an office in Ojai, California. She has been in practice since 1988. Health and Wellness have always been her passion, and she has studied nutrition, massage, herbology, yoga and homeopathy, but found her home in Chinese medicine.
Kelly Stoner—Secretary/Treasurer
Kelly grew up in Carpinteria, California, and has always had lots of animals. She met Maripat and Kathleen in 2010, after she saw their plea on Facebook seeking foster homes. She began fostering for AFLAR, and helped transport dogs from the shelter to foster homes and vet appointments. She also helped at the animal shelter, meeting and assessing dogs for AFLAR. When she had no more room in her house to foster any more animals (she adopted two of the many dogs she fostered), she volunteered to do the books for AFLAR. Kelly is a professional accountant and property manager.
When she is not doing the books for AFLAR or her clients, Kelly is caring for her 6 dogs, 1 cat, and 11 chickens. Kelly says, "my animals are my babies and my world is all about them. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I wish I could save them all!”