Before moving to Memphis, Ranise was involved in rescue in Chicago for a little over 5 years. She started out doing events and raising money, then moved on to volunteering with handling and dog walking, and eventually became a board member for another rescue for more than 2 years. She then became a foster coordinator for ALIVE. Ranise took what she learned in Chicago and has started our very first “branch” to help reduce the extensive overpopulation problem in Memphis. Ranise shares her home with Zelda, the very first dog rescued by ALIVE Rescue Memphis, and has two other foster failures from the program in Memphis, Patty and Sprout. Ranise’s previous dog, Anita Riot, was her inspiration for getting into rescue.

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Kristen Gerali,
ALIVE Chicago President

As a child, Kristen spent time on her uncle’s farm in Wisconsin, where she developed a lifelong love for animals.  When Hurricane Katrina hit, she went to New Orleans to help the rescue effort. The week she spent there changed her life and led to more rescue volunteer work in Chicago and ultimately the founding of ALIVE Rescue. Kristen founded ALIVE Rescue in 2008 and remains the life and breath of ALIVE today. Kristen currently shares her home with four animals, all rescued from Chicago and in need of an understanding home.