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Elizabeth

Founder and President of Board of Directors

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.

Ryan

Co-Founder and Executive Director

Ryan is happily married to the Founder of Happy Cow and Friends Hangout, Elizabeth. He grew up with his dog, Lucky, and was raised taking care of pigs with his grandfather. This is where his love and fondness for animals was fostered. He was ecstatic to inherit 14 dogs and cats when he met Elizabeth. He became a vegan in 2023 and never looked back.

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Chelsea

Board of Directors

Chelsea is a Floridian based entrepreneur. She is an animal lover, puzzle enthusiast and film buff. She lives with her Shiba Inu, Ricky, and together they love to enjoy the outdoors and travel. Chelsea believes all animals should be treated with dignity and kindness. It's up to us to be good stewards of our planet and all that live here.

Christine

Volunteer

Christine became a vegetarian at 14 when she decided that seeing happy animals was more important than eating animals. Since then, Christine has volunteered with numerous animal organizations, helping with animal housing, adoption, and spay and neuter. She is the proud pet mom to one princess cat and one rough-and-tumble farm dog.

Christine and Lilith HCH Website