Meet the Team
Kayla Pippin, Director
I have always loved dogs and I currently have two of my own and one foster dog. Northwood is my GSD mix who I rescued in front of my house 9 years ago at only 6 weeks old. Dexter is my APBT that I rescued from HSPCA and then foster failed after my senior girl passed away. I work from home, and love the flexibility it gives me to be able to do rescue.
While living in the Heights in 2014, it was common to see strays on our streets and I knew I had to somehow get involved. At the time, I was following Melrose Park Neglected Dogs and they were posting for a foster for a dog they found kicked in the ribs, flea infested and strangled by a collar that was on too tight. I immediately stepped up to foster this sweet boy and never looked back. My fostering journey began in November of 2014, and I quickly realized my passion for saving dogs.
After getting involved with my first rescue, I left to help start an all breed rescue in 2016 where I was a director for seven years. I am super excited about my new adventure of starting my own rescue in 2023 with dedicated, passionate women I have been rescuing dogs with for years.
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Jenevi Gonzalez, Director
People think I’m joking when I tell them my world revolves around dogs. As someone who’s a pet sitter and dog walker by profession, needs a service dog, and has a passion for rescue, it is very true. After growing up on animal planet and the discovery channel, I always knew I wanted to be involved with animals. With animal cops showing me how terribly unfair people and the world could be to them, I knew I had to help in some way that wasn’t just mailing a check.
By the time I was eight years old, I spent my summers walking dogs for Harris County Pets that held events at the mall my dad worked at. I would talk to anyone who would walk by telling them all about who was available, then spend the rest of the time just playing with them. Unfortunately, due to life events I was no longer able to help but still felt a calling. High school came along, and we had an animal group where we would all volunteer. We did shifts with Halters Inc during their pumpkin patch and cleaning enclosures at our science resource center. Once I graduated high school, I started fostering kittens and then dogs from BARC which then moved to working with different rescues.
After years of fostering with my last rescue, I was promoted to Director in 2021. I was able to utilize my work and experience to help fosters with training needs and took in a lot of the hard cases to help them become more adoptable. I am now ready to begin a new adventure with HTX Dog Rescue!
Nancy Cheng, Director
I grew up around dogs, but it wasn’t until I was gifted my first dog, Sassy, as an adult that I truly bonded with one. After that, I couldn’t look away from a dog in need. When my husband and I started dating, he fell in love with my dog first. While I was going to school full time and working full time, Sassy in a way became his dog. He took care of her while I wasn’t home. Once we got married, we were known around work as people who loved dogs. A week after our wedding, a co-worker gifted us our second dog, Chacha. Before our first wedding anniversary, we rescued our third dog, Buddy. We were often called about dogs needing a home, and we did our best to try to find them good homes on our own.
It wasn’t until 2014, a friend asked for help fostering a small, young pup that we were introduced to true rescue volunteering. In December 2014, we fostered and adopted out our very first rescue dog, Bubbles. Since then, my husband and I have fostered and rehomed over 65 dogs. We have two foster fails, Reesa and Winnie Lou, and have wished we could have kept many others since they become so dear to our hearts.
In the area where we currently live, we have unfortunately often found dumped dogs. It is a lot of work, and it takes a village, but we do what we can to help these defenseless animals. Our household is a team effort. I could not do this if it wasn’t for the full support and help from my husband, Simon. He is often the one taking them to appointments, feeding, and administering medication. It is his support and encouragement that has emboldened me to take this next step as an HTX Dog Rescue director. This rescue journey has also connected us with great adopters whom we now call friends. I hope to be able to not only continue to rescue dogs from the streets, but also to offer guidance and support to other people wishing to become fosters themselves.