Elizabeth is Texan by birth turned Alabamian. Her upbringing fueled her passion for animals as she was born into a home with big dogs, ferrets and rabbits. During childhood, their home was also shared with cats, mice, guinea pigs, hamsters, birds, and anything else she (or her mother) rescued. In college, Elizabeth sought the companionship of an animal, so Gilbert the fish became her roommate. As a psychology major, she was given the opportunity to adopt the rat from their behavioral conditioning course, and that’s how PeeWee joined the family. As a young adult, Elizabeth volunteered and eventually worked at an animal control facility in Philadelphia, PA. She fostered and adopted several dogs and cats. After experiencing compassion fatigue in the shelter environment, Elizabeth moved to the veterinary field, where she remained for 11 years as a receptionist. During this time, Elizabeth moved from PA to NJ to FL to MS to TX and animals remained an instrumental part of her life. In Florida, Elizabeth purchased two humane traps and began doing TNR (trap/neuter/return) in her community (and this is also how she got a few of her cats!). Elizabeth quickly built up the reputation for taking the animals that were harder to find homes for - those who were sick, blind, or elderly. She often heard, “You should have an animal rescue! You practically already do”.

When Elizabeth was young, her extended family kept cows, and she found herself drawn to them. After Elizabeth and Ryan met in Texas in 2021, the dream of an animal sanctuary became real, and Happy Cow and Friends Hangout was officially formed.