We are so thankful for our wonderful volunteers and Happily Furever After Rescue would not be able to operate without their support and dedication to helping animals in need. Each month we will feature a volunteer who has helped make an impact within our organization. Read to learn more and check back monthly to see who we feature next:

JANUARY VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH: CAROL MARTIN & CENTRAL BARK

We are thrilled to recognize Carol Martin, owner of Central Bark Danbury, as our Volunteer of the Month to kick off 2026!

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In December 2025, Carol invited Happily Furever After Rescue to the open house of her beautiful new Central Bark facility, located at 55 Kenosia Avenue in Danbury. Central Bark, part of a national franchise, offers enrichment dog daycare highlighting small group play balanced with rest periods, overnight boarding, grooming, and pet merchandise, with training classes planned for the near future. From the moment you step inside, it is clear this space was thoughtfully created with dogs and their well-being as the top priority.

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Carol’s love for dogs is at the heart of everything she does. That passion led her to open Central Bark Danbury in June of 2025, and it also inspired her to take an even bigger step. After our involvement in Central Bark’s Open House event on December 6th, Carol personally reached out and asked to partner with Happily Furever After Rescue so she and her team could help a dog in need. It was something she had always wanted to do, and she was excited to finally foster for the first time...and we were just as thrilled! 

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That partnership led to Tripp, a gorgeous one-year-old pitbull mix, becoming Central Bark Danbury’s very first foster dog. Carol and her entire team have embraced him into their program. As Carol shares, “The entire team at Central Bark Danbury is caring for Tripp as one of our own every single day, and watching his growth has been incredibly rewarding for all of us.” In just five weeks, Tripp has learned basic manners, how to receive love from humans, and how to play appropriately with other dogs. Carol beautifully describes the experience as “all of us raising him to be his best self for his furever family.”

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Carol also shared how grateful she is for the partnership, expressing how thrilled she is to work with Jaclyn at Happily Furever After Rescue and how thankful she is for the guidance and support as a first-time foster parent.

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Tripp is Central Bark Danbury’s first foster dog, and Carol and her team are eager to continue this journey. We are incredibly thankful to Carol Martin and the Central Bark Danbury team for reaching out, opening their hearts, and choosing to partner with us to make a meaningful difference in a dog’s life. Their compassion, initiative, and commitment truly embody what rescue is all about. ​

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FEBRUARY VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH: LOUISE & GARY TEODOSIO

This month, we’re excited to recognize Louise Teodosio and her husband, Gary, whose compassion and dedication to rescue work have already made a meaningful impact at Happily Furever After Rescue.

Although Louise has been part of the HFAR family for just one month, her rescue journey began two years ago. She was first introduced to rescue work through her friend Lisa Lieb, who also happens to be a foster of ours, and quickly discovered how fulfilling it was to help animals in need. A lifelong animal lover who has shared her life with many cats and dogs, Louise knew she wanted to stay connected to animals in a hands-on way. “I really wanted to continue my relationship with animals, especially those in need,” she shared.

Since 2024, Louise and Gary have fostered four adult cats and six kittens. One of the most impactful experiences was caring for a litter of five kittens who had lost their mama. Stepping in to provide around-the-clock care and socialization was both challenging and incredibly gratifying. “It was so rewarding to be their replacement mama to provide the care and socialization needed for a successful adoption,” Louise said. All five kittens went on to find their furever homes and are now thriving.

When asked what she loves most about volunteering, Louise summed it up simply and beautifully: “Enriching my heart!” Rescue work has also given her a renewed perspective on the difference one person can make. “HFAR has reminded me of the impact I can have on an animal’s life,” she reflected.

Some of her favorite moments are the quiet, affectionate ones. “I love the snuggles and gentle kisses I get with my foster cats. It is so fulfilling!” Those small connections are what make fostering so special.

For anyone thinking about volunteering or fostering, Louise has heartfelt advice: “Please help save a dog or cats life! In return, your life becomes a whole lot more interesting! You get companionship, a chance to provide an animal with a loving home, and get to grow your heart!”

Recently retired, Louise has found fostering to be a meaningful way to give back while helping cats in need, with Gary’s support every step of the way. Even in just her first month with HFAR, it’s clear that Louise, and Gary, are already making a lasting difference.

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MARCH VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH: NICOLA "NIKKI" IMPROTA

When it comes to dedication, heart, and boots-on-the-ground rescue work, Nicola “Nikki” Improta is truly one of a kind. Since 2021, Nikki has trapped, rescued, assisted with, and saved 300+ cats and kittens — and counting.

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Her journey into rescue began when an injured stray showed up in her downtown Bethel backyard. “He became just one of many local cats in need I would end up helping,” she shares. What started with one cat quickly became a calling. Today, Nikki rescues homeless cats from abandonment and displacement, whether they’re feral or friendly, helping them access vet care, medical support, and ultimately placement into loving homes or rescues.


She’s proud to say she has placed more cats into homes or rescue than she has re-released — though she remains a passionate advocate for TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return). “I love helping feral and semi-feral cats. I love doing TNR and I love taming semi-ferals when possible. Some of my sweetest cats were once feral and scared. It takes time and patience — and I’m good at that.”

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Nikki connected with Happily Furever After Rescue after reaching out to collaborate on helping local cats and through her friendship with fellow rescuer and HFAR foster, Cassandra. Since then, she’s been part of transport efforts — even stepping in during urgent medical situations, including Elphaba’s emergency surgery day. She recalls, “Driving Elphaba to her much-needed vet appointment and emergency intake that day” as one of her top HFAR memories.

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Beyond individual rescues, Nikki took on one of her biggest undertakings: saving the entire Walmart colony — a months-long mission that required feeding nightly in frigid winter weather, trail cameras, trapping, securing rescue placement, and navigating medical emergencies. “It was a whole operation to save and remove a colony of 30 cats living where it was unsafe...it was just me and my one friend, Mary.” Her determination and persistence quite literally changed the lives of dozens of cats in our local area.

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Volunteering, she says, has filled her life with purpose. “Volunteering and doing cat rescue fills my heart up like nothing else. Helping these animals, saving them from suffering in the elements — all the adventure and adrenaline that comes with it.” She admits it’s exhausting work, but adds without hesitation: “I would do anything for these animals.”

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Nikki loves connecting with fellow animal lovers in the community and believes wholeheartedly in the power of coming together to make change. Her message to anyone considering volunteering or fostering is simple and passionate: “Please volunteer and/or foster for your local rescues!! The animals need us — all of us.”



Outside of rescue, Nikki’s world is still wonderfully animal-centered. She works as a dog walker, pet sitter, and veterinary assistant — “my whole life is animals 24/7.” When she’s not saving cats, you can find her tending to her pollinator garden, paddle boarding on the Long Island Sound, enjoying time at home with her cats and her 11-year-old three-legged rescue dog, Rhubarb — a red Australian cattle dog with as much spirit as his mom. A proud homebody, Nikki runs on coffee, sweet treats, and an enormous heart for animals.

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Nikki, your dedication, resilience, and compassion make an immeasurable difference in our community. We are so grateful to have you as part of the HFAR family — and so are the hundreds of cats whose lives you’ve changed forever.

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APRIL VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH: LAUREN MUCCI

For nearly two decades, Lauren Mucci has been quietly changing the lives of cats in her community — one frightened kitten, one feral colony, and one family at a time.

An animal lover her whole life, her rescue journey officially began 18 years ago when she became a cat socializer at a local rescue. Lauren spent hours working with shy and shutdown cats, helping them build confidence and trust. From there, she started fostering, which opened the door to even deeper involvement. She eventually became an adoption counselor and then a team lead, helping match cats with the right families and supporting new volunteers.

While fostering, she found herself especially drawn to the “spicy” kittens — those who needed patience, structure, and a little creative problem-solving. Working with them naturally led her to become more involved with community cats and TNR, which eventually grew into the TNR DBA, Project Eartip, and the guiding phrase H.O.P.E. — Help Operate Project Eartip.

Lauren first learned about H.E.L.P. for Pets (Humane and Ethical Lives, Please) through a fellow trapper. Founded in 1990, the organization flourished for many years, but over the last 15 years, membership dwindled until only three dedicated women remained, operating with nothing but a corded phone, an answering machine with a tape, and a checkbook. They planned to use remaining donated funds to help locals get their cats spayed/neutered or TNR’d, and then dissolve the organization. When Lauren heard this, she knew she couldn’t let such an important resource disappear and offered to take it over. In December 2024, she officially stepped in, working to grow the organization, modernize operations, and continue supporting the community and the cats who depend on it.

In addition to H.E.L.P. for Pets, Lauren recently stepped in with Happily Furever After Rescue to help with a large medical case, administering medications and nursing nearly 20 cats back to health. We are so grateful for the support she provided to our organization during a critical time in need.

A huge part of Lauren’s mission is community education — teaching people about the importance of spay/neuter, vaccination, and the truth that feral cats are community cats that belong to all of us and deserve care and love.

Over the 18 years of rescue work, she has helped thousands of cats — from neonatal kittens and pregnant queens to ferals, seniors, and special-needs cats, including FIV and FeLV positive cats. Some were trapped for TNR, some rehabilitated and adopted, and others received medical care, emergency support, or safe placement. Each one mattered and shaped the rescuer she is today.

What she loves most about volunteering is the transformation. “The moment a spicy kitten finally decides to trust, when hissing softens into purring and they begin seeking out pets and play, feels like magic,” Lauren shares. She also treasures the life-saving side of rescue, from sick neonates with feral moms to feral cats learning to trust humans. Beyond the cats, she loves the community that forms around rescue work — a mix of compassion, grit, humor, and shared purpose.

Lauren explains, “volunteering has grounded me…teaching me patience, resilience, and the ability to stay calm and solution-focused even when overwhelmed.” Eighteen years in rescue have shaped her worldview, making her more compassionate, adaptable, and determined to keep showing up for those who cannot speak for themselves.

Some of her favorite memories are the “full-circle” moments when a cat who came in terrified, injured, or shut down ends up thriving in a loving home. But the memories that hit the deepest are those where a life was saved that could easily have been lost, like sick neonates who pull through, feral moms who learn to trust, or spicy kittens who blossom into affectionate companions.

To anyone considering volunteering or fostering, Lauren emphasizes that every role is crucial. “Whether fostering, transporting, trapping, fundraising, educating, or simply sharing posts, you become part of a network that saves lives,” she says. Taking the leap to get involved can have a profound impact, just by showing up with compassion and a willingness to help.

Outside of rescue, Lauren enjoys travel and adventure, exploring new places, hiking, biking, swimming, and spending time outdoors. She’s happiest near the water, especially at the beach, and also appreciates quieter moments like knitting and listening to audiobooks, podcasts, and music. Being active, outside, and finding small pockets of calm help balance the intensity of rescue work.