Born in Austria and pursuing various educational paths there, I always knew I wanted to live abroad and dedicate a big part of my life to animals. Now, my favorite time of day is dog walkies, when we get to explore nature and the wildlife of Mexico. In true Eva fashion, I enjoy my hikes barefoot and always bring a ton of water for the dogs—while forgetting my own water bottle.

After my first love, Laila, went over the rainbow bridge, I promised myself I wouldn’t get another dog until I had completed all the things on my bucket list that you can’t do with a dog. A week into volunteering with SFS, we rescued Saiya and—well, let’s just say the bucket list can wait . In the meantime, I also adopted Soleil from SFS. Both my pups aren’t the easiest, but we’ve come a long way, and they are perfect to me. I want to prove that having reactive dogs doesn’t restrict you from going on adventures!

I came to SFS as a short-term, on-site volunteer to fill in for a cancellation. After two weeks, I asked if I could stay longer. Same after one month. And two months. And one day, I stopped asking and just stayed . I’ve been through so much with SFS, and SFS has been through so much with me! So many places, positions, hardships, and celebrations. I always wanted to volunteer for a non-profit, save animals, and live in a foreign country—SFS made that dream a reality.

After leading the groundwork and community outreach during the first year, I decided to shift my workload more toward a remote volunteer position. I am now responsible for internal and external communication of SFS in Mexico, the US, and Canada. Also, I am the team leader for several teams, including Adoptions, Transport, Social Media, and HR. Management and coordination are my most valuable skills.