I used to think I’d spend my life in scrubs, stethoscope in hand, helping animals heal. But life had other plans, and they arrived on four tiny legs with a toy monkey. For National Rescue Dog Day, here’s my story…
The original dream
I was a bit of a cliché child and had absolute tunnel vision when it came to my future career. I was never really interested in Barbies, or other ‘popular’ toys, all I wanted to do was add to my ever-growing collection of RSPCA Animal Hospital toys. From about five years of age (and you can ask my Mum to verify), I was absolutely committed to becoming a vet.
When I turned 16, I volunteered as much as I could in my free time. From cleaning stalls at an equestrian centre to bottle-feeding lambs at a local farm, I threw myself into every hands-on opportunity – driven by the dream of one day wearing a white coat and shouting “Cuddles Jones” into a waiting room.
The unexpected pivot
Despite finally securing a place at vet school in 2015 (a huge thank you to my A Level teachers Wendy Marx and Rebecca Cowling for helping me get there!) I was faced with two family members who needed caring for and health complications of my own. So that journey came to a somewhat abrupt end in the Autumn of 2016.
I was then faced with the task of finding something I loved just as much, or even more…
Enter: The spicy chihuahua
Fast forward several years, just before we went into lockdown in 2020, my husband and I fostered a 5-year-old Chihuahua from a local rescue. We quickly learned Nacho had some ‘spicy’ behavioural issues.
I didn’t realise at the time that kennel-based rescues often have no way of predicting how a dog will behave in a home, and it turns out, some things are only revealed after a sharp nip to the bum. But he completely transformed our lives for the better and gave me a whole new appreciation for dog rescues.
Weirdly, his issues were the start of a great relationship with the owners of the rescue, Pupcakes Rescue and Rehab, and I kept in regular contact with them – even holding an online fundraiser to help them secure some much-needed funds during a very difficult time.
Six months later, with Nacho and Suki (not one but two failed fosters) snoring on the sofa, I realised I hadn’t just adopted dogs – I’d adopted a new direction.
I offered to help with the rescue’s social media, as the rescue owners simply didn’t have enough hours in the day. Looking back, I realise the skills I once saw as hobbies: editing the HTML for a custom Myspace background, cultivating a curated Tumblr feed – were all pieces of the puzzle that led me to that point.
Discovering a love for comms
I didn’t know it at the time, but managing social media for the rescue would become my crash course in communications.
Writing captions that simplified behavioural science, designing graphics that encouraged donations, and experimenting with what made some posts take off – it was equal parts storytelling and strategy.
The turning point? A fundraising campaign for a new kennel block for the sanctuary dogs – those with complex behavioural issues who couldn’t be rehomed. In 24 hours, we raised over £1,000.
That’s when it clicked: good comms can create real change.
From volunteer to a marketing professional
Over three years, I volunteered at the rescue (fostering dogs and managing their comms), juggled work, and began a Digital Arts degree to formalise the skills I’d been picking up in the wild.
But it was the everyday challenges, figuring out how to explain reactivity in a single sentence, or why one story tugged harder at hearts than another, that shaped me most.
Then I landed my job at Athene, and as they say, the rest is history!
The dream didn’t disappear – it just changed shape. And this one came with a wagging tail and a (literal) bite-sized lesson in second chances.
See Shannon’s talents in action on our Instagram and LinkedIn!