We were lucky to catch up with Katie Evans recently and have shared our conversation below.

Katie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you scale up? What were the strategies, tactics, meaningful moments, twists/turns, obstacles, mistakes along the way? We’d love to hear the backstory the illustrates how you grew the firm

So many people are of the opinion that running a dog rescue is all fun, all the time. But those are the folks who haven’t been in the muck of the trenches. I will say, it’s a huge compliment to us when we hear that it ‘appears’ effortless. Our Board of Directors does a great job of keeping the painful stuff internal to our leadership team. It can be a challenge sometimes, but is a huge benefit to the organization’s health and reputation.

The success of Texas Great Pyrenees Rescue is entirely due to the hard work of our founders, volunteers, and donors, over the course of the last 20+ years. What started with a small, grassroots group of people who love these dogs, has since grown into the largest and oldest Great Pyrenees breed specific dog rescue in the state.

I started working with Texas Great Pyrenees Rescue in January of 2017. I was responsible for everything in my area – events, recruiting, dog evaluations, dog intake, foster management, contracts, vetting, etc. When I first got started, we had a handful of volunteers and fewer than five dogs in foster. At the end of my first year running the Austin area, we had increased that to 30+ volunteers and more than 20 dogs in foster at any given time. For comparison, in 2016 our Austin area rescued approximately 45 Great Pyrenees dogs. In 2017 saved more than 80. It was such a great year! But it was a LOT of exhausting work.

Having done quite a lot of volunteer work, dating back to my high school days at an animal shelter, I am keenly aware that the biggest asset to any organization is it’s PEOPLE. Being handed a huge responsibility by this organization, I committed immediately to always putting people first. Feeling appreciated is such a key part of my volunteer experience and I wanted to make sure that was always how I lead my team.

I started building my team by hosting in-person events in pet stores, taking my own dogs out in public and talking to people, sharing a TON on my social media, contacting former adopters and asking them to get involved. I also began building relationships with the shelters in and around Austin. Some of their volunteers joined our ranks, and word of mouth did the rest! The nice thing about working with a Great Pyrenees rescue is that the dogs are so impressive. People see these massive, fluffy, friendly dogs and immediately want to talk to us about them. They are our best ambassadors!

While that all sounds like it was fun, and it was, it was also literally 7 days a week of being available. There were no days off. No vacations. We have to be available for our team for questions and support, and for medical emergencies in the middle of the night. It is intense, sometimes draining, and always rewarding. I’ve met my closest friends through this process.

There have been really hard days, filled with sweat and tears. But because we put people first, we have a strong team of volunteers who sit in the trenches with us, who sweat with us, and cry with us. It takes a lot of work to build up any sort of business, and just as much to keep it going.

Katie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I have always had a love of dogs. I was that kid who had dogs “follow me home” when I came across them loose in the neighborhood. I was always sad when we couldn’t keep them, when their owners came to pick them up.

Fast forward to being an adult. In 2008 I moved to Austin, where I did not know *anyone*. A few months after my move, my parents came to town to visit with dogs at a German Shepherd rescue meet and greet event, looking for a new dog to adopt. I went along with them, and met a few of the volunteers. I immediately signed up to help. It seemed like a great way to meet likeminded people.

I worked with that group for about 8 years. I developed some amazing friendships, which I still value today.

When my husband and I inherited a Great Pyrenees from a friend, we fell in love with the breed and I discovered Texas Great Pyrenees Rescue (TGPR). Given my past rescue experience, I was invited to the Board of Directors and placed in charge of the Austin area. I had no idea what I was signing up for, but it turned out to be one of the most meaningful moments of my life. Almost 6 years later, I’m the President and still working in support of our Austin area.

TGPR is a statewide organization and the oldest Great Pyrenees rescue in the Texas (20+ years!). One of the things that sets us apart from other groups is our ability to help sick and injured dogs who wouldn’t otherwise stand a chance of survival. Our donors are the BEST and they always step up to help us when we have dogs in need of medical attention. Medical dogs and feral dogs are my very favorite to foster. I’ve fostered puppies with multiple broken bones, dogs who have to undergo heartworm treatment, dogs with gunshot wounds… You name it! It is so rewarding and it’s one of the things I love most about this organization.

One of the other great things about our group is how much we support each other. Be it volunteers stepping up to help each other out in all things rescue or personal, or our volunteers and supporters providing breed advice, education and guidance to our new adopters. TGPR has the best team of humans, and our longevity is proof of that. I am so honored to be part of this organization.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

I have been on all sorts of teams, both in professional environments and in the volunteer world, and the one key to morale seems to be positive leadership and a feeling of appreciation. The best think any manager can do is lead by example and praise often. Answer questions with a smile, even if it’s the third time. Say thank you. Check in about their lives and families. Offer performance feedback with suggestions and guidance, not criticism and negativity. People who feel valued and appreciated will be happier and more productive, AND will stay longer.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

When I first joined Texas Great Pyrenees Rescue, we had an inactive Instagram account and about 5,000 people in our Facebook group. Unlike some rescues/businesses, we encourage our adopters and followers to participate and share their funny, cute photos and stories. Our dog fosters share adoptable dogs, and we started asking all of our adopters to join the group to post updates of the dogs they adopted. When we post educational content, we ask people to share far and wide. Having a variety of content, not just dogs who need homes, but breed and animal care content, as well as funny dog stories and videos has been a huge part of our social media growth. We recruited a volunteer to get our Instagram back up and running a couple of years ago and it’s been growing ever since. We’re now at 22,000 members in our FB group and 11,400 followers on Instagram!

Learn the algorithms or find someone who understands them, and post often. Quality photos and video stories draw attention. Make it fun!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.tgpr.org
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/txpyrs
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/TexasGreatPyreneesRescue