Today we’d like to introduce you to Becky Best.
Hi Becky, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I believe in the adage “everything happens for a reason” and can clearly see times when life events caused unexpected shifts that led me to where I am today.
One of the biggest occurred when I was a Stephen F. Austin State University student struggling to select a career and major. My mom’s cancer returned during my sophomore year, so I went home to Corpus Christi to help care for her. Despite treatments and her determination, the cancer continued to spread. Her doctor eventually suggested we bring in hospice, but on the day of her intake appointment, they explained she was unlikely to live through the day. We were stunned yet incredibly grateful to have someone guide us through the difficult experience of her death.
My mom had been passionate about volunteering. So, when I returned to school, I wanted to honor her legacy and the significant impact hospice made on me in those few hours by becoming a volunteer. They felt it was too soon for me to be with patients, so I was assigned to support public relations and volunteer management. Three decades later, I’m still working in those fields.
For 20 years, I lived in Michigan and worked in corporate social responsibility, focused largely on community engagement and grantmaking. That led to an opportunity to return to Texas for a role in Houston.
One day, I was on my way to a meeting when I spotted three dogs dodging traffic in the middle of a busy intersection. I lured them to the side of the road and called the number on one dog’s collar. When the owner came to get them, she said only two were hers, and the third was a neighborhood stray that I should leave on the streets. I couldn’t just turn the dog loose, so I called off from work and spent the day driving all over town, trying to find someone to take him.
This 2017 meeting with a sweet pitbull (later named Frederick by his adopter) introduced me to Houston’s animal welfare challenges, shifting my focus to helping the millions of local pets in need.
Since then, I have volunteered, worked, or consulted for several animal welfare organizations and joined the City of Houston Shelter Advisory Committee. Most recently, Houston Pets Alive! Executive Director Noelle Delgado contacted me to explore our mutual interest in increasing collaboration among shelters and rescues.
We met with many leaders who, together, established the Gulf Coast Animal Welfare Alliance to create a region where every pet is safe and free from suffering. The 16-organization steering committee selects key strategies and Houston Pets Alive! serves as the effort backbone, providing support, including bringing me on as director. The key to success, however, will be engagement and help from animal welfare organizations, health and human service providers, businesses, churches, community leaders, and citizens.
People look to shelters and rescues to solve animal welfare issues. But to be blunt, the community is breeding, surrendering, neglecting, and dumping more pets than we can help. To be successful, we need commitments from pet owners to do all they can to “fix,” keep and care for their pets; and support from adopters, fosters, volunteers, and funders, including the government and philanthropy, which do not properly prioritize this issue to ensure adequate funding.
It’s a big challenge, but I have confidence in our community and belief in another applicable adage: “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There have certainly been struggles along the way, but I believe those are the moments that really shape who we are and lead us to opportunities and insights we may not have considered otherwise.
Everything we go through comes down to our relationships with the people, things, and experiences in our lives. I decide what meaning and value I assign to those and how I react as they enter and depart from my life. It doesn’t mean I won’t have struggles and grief, but I don’t have to be a victim – I can learn a lesson and come out stronger or wiser on the other side.
It’s easier said than done, but every day I get a new opportunity to improve.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
The Gulf Coast Animal Welfare Alliance is a collaborative dedicated to improving the lives of Gulf Coast people and pets. Our region needs to elevate the conversation around animal welfare so more people understand how this issue impacts our public safety and health, quality of life, and reputation.
We are missing out on the benefits and savings from pet owners’ improved health – lower blood pressure, less depression and isolation, lower risk of heart attack and stroke, and increased activity that can help with weight loss. Nationally, the benefits of pet ownership save more than $22 billion per year in healthcare costs. We are missing out on a lot of that as we could be doing a better job of keeping pets in homes.
With rescues and shelters full, it’s harder to surrender pets, so some owners are resorting to dumping them on the streets. In certain neighborhoods, especially in those that are underserved, residents struggle to safely leave their homes to access public transportation, visit parks, or play outside with their children. We can do better.
There are humane ways to improve the situation within our region, but we need the community’s help. We invite readers to be part of the solution by visiting our website at gcawa.org and signing up to receive more information or get involved.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up.
It’s not one memory in particular, but I loved spending major holidays with my extended family. Everyone would go to my grandma’s house, and she would cook a huge feast. As an only child, it was fun to be around my first and second cousins, who were several years older or younger than me, but either way, I still enjoyed talking or playing games with them. On Christmas Eve, we would exchange gifts and start a battle of throwing wadded-up wrapping paper and bows at one another. We were normally a bit more reserved, so seeing everyone relax and get a little silly was fun.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.gcawa.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gcawa.tx/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gcawa.tx
