Our "Best Friend" Honored Volunteer: Sage K
A rockstar dog groomer, Sage provides dogs extra TLC to get them adopted
By
Best Friends Animal Society
"Our Best Friends" is a weekly installment to honor just a few of our outstanding Best Friends LA volunteers. This is your chance to get to know some of the shining stars in the Best Friends LA volunteer program! Volunteers are either nominated by Best Friends LA staff or other volunteers in our program. If you would like to volunteer, e-mail the Best Friends LA Volunteer Department at volunteerLA@bestfriends.org
Sage K. - honored October 19, 2015
Sage, tell us.....
What programs and projects do you volunteer with at Best Friends LA?
I volunteer as a dog groomer, and I also enjoy working with the shy dogs. In addition to volunteering, my wife and I foster kittens.
Why do you choose to volunteer with Best Friends LA?
I love the No-Kill spirit!
How long have you been a Best Friends LA volunteer?
I've been a volunteer for about three years.
What type of fun stuff do you do when you're not volunteering?
I'm currently working part time at Elephant Tour and Elephant Production, making Japanese TV shows and taking care of special inbound tours. Also I used to be a guitarist and do professional guitar repair and set-ups. On occasion I work on movie and TV shows as a Prop Specialist.
Do you have a favorite story to share about an experience volunteering with Best Friends LA?
I found my way to contribute to the animal rescue community by grooming shelter animals. When I decided to get Certificate as Dog Groomer and quit my job to enroll in "4 Dogs Grooming Academy", it was very scary because I knew my income would be drastically less and going to lose health insurance as well. I'm still struggling, but I do not regret it at all. When I find out the dog that I groomed has been adopted right after, the news makes my day, and my life.
In the near future, I'd like to make a web site or blog called "Groomer For Rescue" and hopefully it become a place where all animal shelters and groomers can connect. Imagine if every shelter has a place to find a groomer near-by and get their animals bathed and groomed nicely I'm sure this will make big difference of saving more lives.
I would like to thank everyone at BFLA for help and friendship. We save more lives together!
Do you have any pets?
We used to have boy cat "Alice" named after Alice Cooper. We rescued him one month after we moved to America. He was about 4 weeks old when rescued and lived over 17 years. Our plan to stay in LA was only one year, but because of Alice, we ended up living here for over 23 years. Alice is still with me, I made a "Cat Shape Guitar" in his honor.
What others are saying about Sage:
"We love Sage! He is a rockstar groomer who gives our pups that extra dose of TLC to get adopted! He is just an awesome volunteer. He has also helped to clean out and organize our grooming room. I can't say enough good things about him." :) -- MaryAna DeLosSantos, Lead Dog Caregiver