With a roaring compassion for animals, Stephanie Brennan (Senior Property Manager, Chicago) has dedicated her free time to volunteering with creatures large and small, from playful puppies to majestic rhinos.
As a child, Stephanie’s classmate brought in her guide-dog-in-training for show-and-tell. Stephanie went home that night and confidently announced to her parents that she wanted to be a puppy raiser. In 2010, she finally fulfilled that dream by volunteering for Leader Dogs for the Blind, a nonprofit organization that works to empower those who are blind or visually impaired to live and travel independently. The nonprofit offers a guide dog program, which pairs clients with a specially trained guide dog that best matches their lifestyle.
As a puppy raiser, Stephanie fostered eight-week-old puppies for just over a year at a time, preparing them for life as guide dogs. In addition to house training and teaching basic obedience, her responsibilities involved exposing the puppies to as much of the outside world as possible — different sounds, surfaces, animals, and environments — so they’d grow up to be confident.
“I don’t think I own anything that doesn’t have puppy teeth marks,” Stephanie laughed. “It’s a very intense year of training, but it’s very rewarding. I absolutely loved doing it.”
After completing the training program, the dogs are matched with a visually impaired person in one of 38 different countries. Of the four Labrador retrievers Stephanie raised, two are currently working, one went into the search-and-rescue field, and the other was career-changed for “squirrel distraction.” She recently had the opportunity to reunite with one, Kirby, and meet his owner Jorge, in Spain.
“I went to visit last June and got to spend two days with them,” she reminisced. “It was really, really cool to experience walking with them and almost be guided by my dog through crowded streets in Madrid.”
In addition to spending time as a puppy raiser, Stephanie has also volunteered at various parrot rescues: A Refuge for Saving the Wildlife in Northbrook, Illinois, and Greater Chicago Cage Bird Rescue in Chicago, Illinois.
“I had always been fascinated by cockatoos,” she said. “I’ve never had a bird. I know this isn’t an animal you go out and obtain without experience; it’s an enormous commitment. I thought I might be satisfied by spending time with some, getting to know them and paying back. So, I found this rescue that had about 80 large parrots. I would go up there on Saturday mornings to clean cages and spend time with the birds.”
Stephanie’s love of animals has even taken her around the world — from Rescate Wildlife Rescue Center, an animal sanctuary in Costa Rica, to Care for the Wild, a rhino orphanage in South Africa.
I’m passionate about animals, and I’m passionate about traveling,” said Stephanie. “I discovered I could combine the two by volunteer traveling, so now I try to do an animal trip every year. Personally, I’d rather be hands-on than driving around, looking at the animals from a distance. It’s involved and it’s dirty, but it’s the experience of a lifetime. And you’re with like-minded people, so I’ve made friends from all over the world.
Next up on her itinerary is an eight-day trip to the Galápagos Islands, where she’ll volunteer as an assistant for World Vets.
“I really appreciate Regency Centers so much,” she reflected. “For affording me opportunities to do this, our generous PTO offerings, plus additional volunteer hours we get to utilize various ways throughout the year. I’m very thankful and excited to be with a company that supports and encourages time for ourselves and others.