Meet the U.S. Team
Patricia Galofre-Riska
Co-Founder, Co-Director, Board Member
I was born in Colombia, South America and am a flight attendant for a major airline. During one of my work trips to Kuwait, I met a group of women who save abused and abandoned dogs. They invited me into their homes to meet some of the dogs they had rescued. During that visit, I knew I had to do something to save the Kuwaiti dogs. With the help of Jennifer Yoon, we began Wings of Love, Kuwait. Our mission is to find homes in the U.S. for the abandoned and abused dogs, and transport them here. It is my goal to bring over as many dogs as possible! They all deserve to have loving, carefree lives! Since 2015, we have re-homed almost 700 dogs! For me that is a blessing.
Thank you and please share our website. It does make a difference.
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Jennifer Yoon
Co-Founder, Co-Director, Treasurer, Board Member
Learning about the plight of animals in Kuwait was a life changing event for me. There, animals are purchased like trinkets and tossed out on a whim. Dogs are deemed dirty and unwanted. There are very few places for unwanted animals and shelters are overflowing. Many dogs die from neglect, abuse, and ignorance.
People ask why we rescue Kuwaiti dogs when there are so many in the U.S. that are in need? The answer is because we are animal lovers and the animals of Kuwait deserve a chance at a happy life. We know we can't help all of them but we can help some.
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With the help of a group of amazing women in Kuwait, we’ve managed to rehome the majority of our rescues within the Baltimore area. Baltimore is a dog-loving city and we are grateful for the kindness people have shown us and our Kuwaiti dogs. We thank you Baltimore and we thank you for taking a moment of your day to stop by and visit our site.
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Adrienne Cain
Foster Coordinator, Event Planner, Board Member
I first started fostering dogs because I was looking to adopt a second dog. I have a yellow lab rescue named Princess Leia, and I wanted her to have a pal to play with. I sent an email to Wings of Love, Kuwait to inquire about adopting and Justine emailed me back. I then talked to Jennifer and she convinced me to foster instead of adopting, and here I am! Wings of Love, Kuwait instantly made me feel welcomed and supported. It has become family! Leia has a great temperament and is an amazing foster sister. She helps give the pups confidence and teaches them how to “dog” which most of them have never been able to do, because they were too busy just surviving. In the past 11 months I have fostered six dogs. Fostering is so rewarding and I really do love it!
Jay Herzog
Education Coordinator, Board Member
In February 2018, I lost my dog and was absolutely heartbroken. I didn’t know whether I could go through that again, so I told my wife I needed at least six months before I would even consider adopting another dog. That didn’t last very long! I starting looking online for dog rescues in Baltimore. I found Wing of Love, Kuwait’s website; I had never heard of them but I really liked their mission. I immediately fell in love with a dog named Blinkin. I showed my wife her photo and it turned out that she had seen the same dog on Petfinder and wanted her, but was worried about telling me because I had asked for time! Now Blinkin (we renamed her Tahini) is part of our family and we love her so much!
I have flown to Kuwait several times to bring dogs over to their new homes. I love this rescue! Everyone who is involved with it is truly dedicated to the organization’s mission; to save the lives of these amazing dogs.
Caroline Ferree
Website/Facebook Coordinator
I have known Patricia for many years, so when she told me in 2105 that she had started flying to Kuwait in her free time to bring back rescued dogs, I was not in the least bit surprised! After hearing the stories about how the abandoned and abused dogs are rescued, medically treated, fostered for a period of time in Kuwait, and then flown to the U.S., I knew I wanted to volunteer for Wings of Love, Kuwait. Over the years, I have met many of the dogs Wings of Love, Kuwait has saved, and I have seen first hand how much they love their new families, and how much they are loved in return. Thank you to Patricia and Jennifer for having this vision, and for allowing me to be a part of it!
Justine Bedard
Volunteer
I met Jennifer when I advertised in our neighborhood Facebook group that I had dog items to donate. When she came over to pick them up, we chatted about Wings of Love, Kuwait. My husband and I had fostered dogs for another organization but it wasn't a great experience. Nevertheless, I hesitantly agreed to foster a small dog that was arriving in a few weeks. While I fostered the dog, Jennifer and Patricia were wonderful! They frequently checked in with me to make sure everything was going well. After seeing how much they loved and cared about the dogs and how they made sure I was comfortable as a foster, I knew I had found a wonderful organization!
After fostering for a few months I decided to help them with setting up and running events. I do event coordination for a living so it wasn’t that big of a stretch for me. I really enjoy working with this group!
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Bonnie Harting
Foster, Volunteer, Baker
I met Patricia through my daughter-in-law when Wings of Love, Kuwait had just started rescuing dogs. Patricia had told her about the organization, and said that needed fosters. I had just lost my 9-year-old dog and, although I love dogs, I did not want to adopt another one. I thought that fostering would allow me to have dogs in my life, spoil them as their “grandmother,” help find them the perfect family, and love them forever. Since then, I have fostered 12 dogs and I still keep in touch with all of their families. I even get to dogsit for some of them when their families go out of town! In addition to fostering, I also help out in any way I can. I work at events, pick up dogs at the airport when they arrive in the States, and do home visits. My all time favorite thing to do, though, is to bake cookies for the Wings of Love, Kuwait team! For me, the organization is not just a rescue; it is my family.