Kira
Kira Gleason is one of our fantastic dog walkers/pet sitters. Originally from Pennsylvania, Kira has lived in Maryland and Washington State before moving to North Carolina. Kira attended Coppin State University in Maryland on a softball scholarship where she studied sports management. Before starting at A Whole Lotta Love, Kira was a stay-at-home mom to her son, Jaden.
Kira’s life has always included animals. She has had an eclectic collection of canines.
Jazmine was a Chihuahua/Cocker Spaniel, Thunder and Lightning was a German Shepherd, Boomer was a Labrador Retriever, Dusty was a Golden Retriever, Odie was a Doberman/Rottweiler mix, Tulla was a Lab/Pit/Border Collie mix and now she has Ace!
Kira also has had a cat named Tony, a guinea pig named October and a lot of fish!
“I've been around and worked with many different animals for as long as I can remember. I love them all like they are my own!”
Kira was a groomer’s assistant at Petco where she bathed, blow dried and brushed out dogs as well as clipped their nails,
“Currently I have one dog named Ace. He is an American Staffordshire Terrier and he's my second son!”
When asked what she likes best about dog walking/pet sitting, Kira answered, “I just enjoy being with all animals and to help love them when needed!” She added, “it is also a plus that my “office” is our beautiful world!”
In her spare time she likes exploring anything and everything!
In addition to dog walking and pet sitting, Kira also assists on the administrative side of the AWLL business. She is an asset to A Whole Lotta Love and we are proud to have her as part of our team!
Testimonials about Kira:
"We were out of town for the weekend, so Destiny stayed with our two dogs overnight, as well as did the dinner feeding. Kira did the mid-day walks. Maxx and Sammie are happy when we get home, which is all we can ask for! The sitters leave treats for the dogs on the last visit, and Maxx and Sammie love them! Thank you Destiny and Kira for taking such good care of our babies!" Anne C., May 2017
Kira Gleason is one of our fantastic dog walkers/pet sitters. Originally from Pennsylvania, Kira has lived in Maryland and Washington State before moving to North Carolina. Kira attended Coppin State University in Maryland on a softball scholarship where she studied sports management. Before starting at A Whole Lotta Love, Kira was a stay-at-home mom to her son, Jaden.
Kira’s life has always included animals. She has had an eclectic collection of canines.
Jazmine was a Chihuahua/Cocker Spaniel, Thunder and Lightning was a German Shepherd, Boomer was a Labrador Retriever, Dusty was a Golden Retriever, Odie was a Doberman/Rottweiler mix, Tulla was a Lab/Pit/Border Collie mix and now she has Ace!
Kira also has had a cat named Tony, a guinea pig named October and a lot of fish!
“I've been around and worked with many different animals for as long as I can remember. I love them all like they are my own!”
Kira was a groomer’s assistant at Petco where she bathed, blow dried and brushed out dogs as well as clipped their nails,
“Currently I have one dog named Ace. He is an American Staffordshire Terrier and he's my second son!”
When asked what she likes best about dog walking/pet sitting, Kira answered, “I just enjoy being with all animals and to help love them when needed!” She added, “it is also a plus that my “office” is our beautiful world!”
In her spare time she likes exploring anything and everything!
In addition to dog walking and pet sitting, Kira also assists on the administrative side of the AWLL business. She is an asset to A Whole Lotta Love and we are proud to have her as part of our team!
Testimonials about Kira:
"We were out of town for the weekend, so Destiny stayed with our two dogs overnight, as well as did the dinner feeding. Kira did the mid-day walks. Maxx and Sammie are happy when we get home, which is all we can ask for! The sitters leave treats for the dogs on the last visit, and Maxx and Sammie love them! Thank you Destiny and Kira for taking such good care of our babies!" Anne C., May 2017
Jeff takes Maddie and Sophie for a stroll.
Jeff
Hailing from the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area, Jeff Mynhier is an avid animal lover who joined the A Whole Lotta Love family in 2013 after moving to North Carolina from Michigan. Jeff has a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work and a master's degree from UNC’s School of Social Work’s Advanced Standing Program.
Growing up, Jeff always had dogs. But, currently he shares his household is his wife and Mr. Bibs. “He is the greatest cat ever, and I know most people say that. He is a Maine Coon and a pretty hefty one at that. He is very beautiful and acts more like a dog than cat. He begs for food, chews on things, and loves attention. He is most often found on someone’s lap and sleeps in our bed every night,” he explains.
Jeff is waiting to get a dog for awhile. “It is great to spent time with dogs throughout the day. I get to pet them, laugh, and play! They are always so happy to see me, and it’s great for me to get out on some walks.”
Jeff likes to spend free time playing on-line games. “But my main interest is in music and I love DJing.” Jeff goes on to say, “I don’t spend as much time on it as I would like, but I am always listening to music and staying on point with everything new.”
Jeff is also a huge fan of Pittsburgh sport teams.
Jeff hopes to combine social-work with his love of animals. “We’ll see where my path takes me! In the meantime, I appreciate people “sharing” their pets with me.”
Hailing from the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area, Jeff Mynhier is an avid animal lover who joined the A Whole Lotta Love family in 2013 after moving to North Carolina from Michigan. Jeff has a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work and a master's degree from UNC’s School of Social Work’s Advanced Standing Program.
Growing up, Jeff always had dogs. But, currently he shares his household is his wife and Mr. Bibs. “He is the greatest cat ever, and I know most people say that. He is a Maine Coon and a pretty hefty one at that. He is very beautiful and acts more like a dog than cat. He begs for food, chews on things, and loves attention. He is most often found on someone’s lap and sleeps in our bed every night,” he explains.
Jeff is waiting to get a dog for awhile. “It is great to spent time with dogs throughout the day. I get to pet them, laugh, and play! They are always so happy to see me, and it’s great for me to get out on some walks.”
Jeff likes to spend free time playing on-line games. “But my main interest is in music and I love DJing.” Jeff goes on to say, “I don’t spend as much time on it as I would like, but I am always listening to music and staying on point with everything new.”
Jeff is also a huge fan of Pittsburgh sport teams.
Jeff hopes to combine social-work with his love of animals. “We’ll see where my path takes me! In the meantime, I appreciate people “sharing” their pets with me.”
Blake
Blake is petting one of AWLL's clients, Tilly
Blake Peyton is a recent graduate from UNC Chapel Hill with a B.A. in Communications (concentration in Media Production) with minors in Cinema Studies and Public Relations. She hopes to one day make wildlife documentaries.
Blake can’t remember a time not having pets! “Some of my favorite pets were Maggie, a Golden Retriever, Mojo, the coolest cat ever, and Daisy, a Great Pyrenees. I have so many fond memories of them all!”
Blake has a cat named Ora, who was rescued from Hurricane Sandy. “Ora has to eat a gluten free diet just like me! I love her so much and her silly personality always brings a smile to my face.” Blake also has a longhaired miniature Dachshund named Dobby! “He’s my baby!” Blake explains. “Dobby is about 5 years old and I’ve raised him since he was a little puppy. He is so very loved and spoiled. I could talk all day about how smart, funny, and adorable he is."
Blake has been performing pet sits and dog walks with AWLL since 2012.
Blake can’t remember a time not having pets! “Some of my favorite pets were Maggie, a Golden Retriever, Mojo, the coolest cat ever, and Daisy, a Great Pyrenees. I have so many fond memories of them all!”
Blake has a cat named Ora, who was rescued from Hurricane Sandy. “Ora has to eat a gluten free diet just like me! I love her so much and her silly personality always brings a smile to my face.” Blake also has a longhaired miniature Dachshund named Dobby! “He’s my baby!” Blake explains. “Dobby is about 5 years old and I’ve raised him since he was a little puppy. He is so very loved and spoiled. I could talk all day about how smart, funny, and adorable he is."
Blake has been performing pet sits and dog walks with AWLL since 2012.
Sarah LeSueur is a Durham native and an animal lover. She graduated from Durham School of the Arts and continued on to study early childhood education at Louisburg College and Gallaudet University. Sarah is a full time preschool teacher at KIN Too.
Growing up, Sarah had a black lab named Mandy, a tabby cat named Mork and a Terrier named Pal. She currently resides with her two tabby cats, Montana and Louie and a chorky named Lexi. She has been pet sitting for many years. What she enjoys best about working at AWLL is spending time with the clients and getting plenty of exercise.
“I enjoy getting to know the different breeds and I’ve learned not to prejudge any one breed. Once I was going to meet a dog and was told he was a Mastiff. I was skeptical at first because in the past I had a bad experience dog walking a dog of that breed. To my surprise, when I got there, he was a big snuggly baby who loves to give kisses! He has become one of my favorites.”
Sarah is a big Duke basketball fan. In her spare time, Sarah likes to shop thrift stores.
We are happy to have Sarah as part of the AWLL team!
Growing up, Sarah had a black lab named Mandy, a tabby cat named Mork and a Terrier named Pal. She currently resides with her two tabby cats, Montana and Louie and a chorky named Lexi. She has been pet sitting for many years. What she enjoys best about working at AWLL is spending time with the clients and getting plenty of exercise.
“I enjoy getting to know the different breeds and I’ve learned not to prejudge any one breed. Once I was going to meet a dog and was told he was a Mastiff. I was skeptical at first because in the past I had a bad experience dog walking a dog of that breed. To my surprise, when I got there, he was a big snuggly baby who loves to give kisses! He has become one of my favorites.”
Sarah is a big Duke basketball fan. In her spare time, Sarah likes to shop thrift stores.
We are happy to have Sarah as part of the AWLL team!
Tracy with one of her dogs, Frances
Tracy
Tracy Charles, pet sitter and dog walker extraordinaire, came to A Whole Lotta Love with a varied background in animal and pet care.
Tracy has volunteered her time and energy to help animals in very unique and meaningful ways. She has participated in the Dogs Deserve Better, a national group that's similar to the Coalition to Unchain Dogs. “Dogs Deserve Better Chain-Off”, where she raised money by being “chained out” at her home and also to show how it must feel for the dog who is chained out in his yard all day. She was filmed and interviewed by the local news.
Tracy was also a Freedom Train driver for dogs rescued from kill shelters in the south to fostering or adoption opportunities in the north. The Freedom Train is a mode of free, volunteer-based transportation designed to rescue animals from high kill shelters and abusive/neglectful situations, and transport them to screened and approved rescues and forever homes. This system is able to be successful due to the large network of people who volunteer their time, gas money and hearts, in order to see the animals reach their safe havens.
Tracy has volunteered as an animal care technician for the Carolina Tiger Rescue (formally known as the Carnivore Preservation Trust), where she fed, watered, and cleaned enclosures, (among other duties) for tigers, leopards, kinkajous, smaller cats, and binturongs.
Tracy has surrounded herself with animals her whole life. Born in Oak Harbor, WA her family moved to Ireland when she was three. It was there her family adopted an Irish Setter named Duchess. The family moved back to states and settled in Virginia. During that time Butterscotch, a cockapoo; Terry, a terrier mix from the shelter and Blaze, a Great Dane; resided with them.
Tracy’s dad was a K9 officer for Norfolk PD and then the head of K9. He brought home Marti, a Rottweiler and Rip, a German shepherd for a few months until they were done with their training or found a good handler to match them with.
Tracy had kitties too. Lucky, Che, Cocoa and Mischief came to live with the family. They also raised a litter of stray kittens and found homes for them all!
Currently Tracy resides with her husband, two dogs: Flynn, a shelter dog, who looks like a mix of Tibetan Mastiff and something else and Frances, a lab mix, rescue. Because of Flynn’s Errol Flynn mustache, her family started naming their pets after actors or movies. Her daughter wanted to name Fran after Tracy’s mom, Judy, so they compromised on Frances, for Frances Gumm, Judy Garland’s real name.
She also has six cats. Three of them are from a foster failure.
When asked what she likes best about working for AWLL, Tracy said, “I like that I’m a bright spot in the pet’s day. I’m there to give him/her recreation, affection and attention (plus necessities, like food, water, or medicine). Dogs (and cats) have always made my life happier, more fun, and more fulfilling, so it’s nice to pay some of that back.”
When Tracy isn’t caring for animals, she likes to garden, read, watch movies, and be with her family. She plans to go to Miller-Motte this fall for her Vet Tech certification.
Tracy donated to causes that help rescue or ameliorate the plight of abused animals. When it comes to animals, she has been described as a “fairy godmother” who responds to animals and their needs.
We are proud to have Tracy as part of the AWLL team.
Tracy Charles, pet sitter and dog walker extraordinaire, came to A Whole Lotta Love with a varied background in animal and pet care.
Tracy has volunteered her time and energy to help animals in very unique and meaningful ways. She has participated in the Dogs Deserve Better, a national group that's similar to the Coalition to Unchain Dogs. “Dogs Deserve Better Chain-Off”, where she raised money by being “chained out” at her home and also to show how it must feel for the dog who is chained out in his yard all day. She was filmed and interviewed by the local news.
Tracy was also a Freedom Train driver for dogs rescued from kill shelters in the south to fostering or adoption opportunities in the north. The Freedom Train is a mode of free, volunteer-based transportation designed to rescue animals from high kill shelters and abusive/neglectful situations, and transport them to screened and approved rescues and forever homes. This system is able to be successful due to the large network of people who volunteer their time, gas money and hearts, in order to see the animals reach their safe havens.
Tracy has volunteered as an animal care technician for the Carolina Tiger Rescue (formally known as the Carnivore Preservation Trust), where she fed, watered, and cleaned enclosures, (among other duties) for tigers, leopards, kinkajous, smaller cats, and binturongs.
Tracy has surrounded herself with animals her whole life. Born in Oak Harbor, WA her family moved to Ireland when she was three. It was there her family adopted an Irish Setter named Duchess. The family moved back to states and settled in Virginia. During that time Butterscotch, a cockapoo; Terry, a terrier mix from the shelter and Blaze, a Great Dane; resided with them.
Tracy’s dad was a K9 officer for Norfolk PD and then the head of K9. He brought home Marti, a Rottweiler and Rip, a German shepherd for a few months until they were done with their training or found a good handler to match them with.
Tracy had kitties too. Lucky, Che, Cocoa and Mischief came to live with the family. They also raised a litter of stray kittens and found homes for them all!
Currently Tracy resides with her husband, two dogs: Flynn, a shelter dog, who looks like a mix of Tibetan Mastiff and something else and Frances, a lab mix, rescue. Because of Flynn’s Errol Flynn mustache, her family started naming their pets after actors or movies. Her daughter wanted to name Fran after Tracy’s mom, Judy, so they compromised on Frances, for Frances Gumm, Judy Garland’s real name.
She also has six cats. Three of them are from a foster failure.
When asked what she likes best about working for AWLL, Tracy said, “I like that I’m a bright spot in the pet’s day. I’m there to give him/her recreation, affection and attention (plus necessities, like food, water, or medicine). Dogs (and cats) have always made my life happier, more fun, and more fulfilling, so it’s nice to pay some of that back.”
When Tracy isn’t caring for animals, she likes to garden, read, watch movies, and be with her family. She plans to go to Miller-Motte this fall for her Vet Tech certification.
Tracy donated to causes that help rescue or ameliorate the plight of abused animals. When it comes to animals, she has been described as a “fairy godmother” who responds to animals and their needs.
We are proud to have Tracy as part of the AWLL team.
Raven
Raven is one of our popular dog walkers/pet sitters. She is a true animal lover and has been surrounded by all types of animals her entire life.
Born on the island of Oahu, Raven left the island after graduation to join family on the mainland… Durham, North Carolina.
Currently Raven does not have any pets of her own. But, when she lived in Hawaii, she had an extensive list of pets! Raven has cared for a variety dogs and cats. She had a Siberian Husky named Niaobie, Nia for short. Nia was a beautiful animal who was shown in a few dog shows. Raven has rescued many feral cats too. One of her favorites was a black and white cat named Luscious.
Raven has had aquariums full of eels, tropical fish and other sea creatures. She is fond of winged pets too. Raven’s feathered pets include a parrot, macaw and a cockatiel. She enjoys reptiles and has cared for a Jackson chameleon!
When I asked Raven what her favorite part of working with animals was, she explained, “I love my job as a pet sitter and dog walker. It’s individualized work which gives me the opportunity to give each 4-legged client what they need and deserve. This is the first job I’ve had that I actually look forward to everyday; I truly love working for A Whole Lotta Love!”
In her spare time, Raven likes to spend even more time with animals. She volunteers at Raleigh’s Safe Haven for Cats shelter. Among her duties at Safe Haven is “shake and rake”. This is where the kitties’ cage is cleaned with little brushes and a little dust pan, and then sanitized with tri-fectant which kills any germs so that the kitties won't transfer germs to each other. She also socializes the cats, preparing them for their forever home. She is a bit of a Cat Whisperer.
"As usual, we were very satisfied with our recent service. Raven is great! We already knew she was good with dogs from Daphne's many dog walks. The fact that she got shy Mr. Weasel to come out and socialize on the first visit proves her skill with cats too. Raven's emails are fun to read and we can tell that she genuinely enjoys spending time getting to know our pets. The whole AWLL crew is great and the treats are always appreciated by the furry family members." Bevan K., May 2015
Bill
Bill comes to A Whole Lotta Love with many years of pet care experience. He has had many dogs, cats, wild birds, ferrets, wild fish, ducks, chickens, snakes, and turtles. Currently he resides in Rougemont with his wife and many cats. Bill and his wife have rescued many feral cats.
Bill had a wonderful little kitty that was amazing. He explains, “She was a stray that came up one day. She had contracted FeLV but it did not become a problem until a few years later when she developed a medial-spinal lymphoma. We treated aggressively with chemo and though the prognosis was 6-8 months, I was lucky enough to have her enjoy a fantastic quality of life for a year and about 7 months.”
Bill’s current favorite kitty is another stray who has a lot of qualities of a dog as well as a cat.
Bill has volunteered with the Piedmont Wildlife Rescue and has participated in many of Durham’s APS walk-a-thons. In Bill’s spare time he likes to fish, cook and watch movies.
Bill’s favorite part of being a AWLL dog walker/pet sitter is meeting so many wonderful pets.
We are honored to have Bill as part of the A Whole Lotta Love team!
Bill comes to A Whole Lotta Love with many years of pet care experience. He has had many dogs, cats, wild birds, ferrets, wild fish, ducks, chickens, snakes, and turtles. Currently he resides in Rougemont with his wife and many cats. Bill and his wife have rescued many feral cats.
Bill had a wonderful little kitty that was amazing. He explains, “She was a stray that came up one day. She had contracted FeLV but it did not become a problem until a few years later when she developed a medial-spinal lymphoma. We treated aggressively with chemo and though the prognosis was 6-8 months, I was lucky enough to have her enjoy a fantastic quality of life for a year and about 7 months.”
Bill’s current favorite kitty is another stray who has a lot of qualities of a dog as well as a cat.
Bill has volunteered with the Piedmont Wildlife Rescue and has participated in many of Durham’s APS walk-a-thons. In Bill’s spare time he likes to fish, cook and watch movies.
Bill’s favorite part of being a AWLL dog walker/pet sitter is meeting so many wonderful pets.
We are honored to have Bill as part of the A Whole Lotta Love team!
