It Takes a Village Canine Rescue, Inc. (ITV) is a volunteer ran, foster home based, no-kill dog rescue! We are a 501 accredited non-profit organization dedicated to doing what it takes to find loving homes for stray, abandoned, and surrendered animals. By working with committed volunteers, foster homes, local veterinarians, animal control facilities, trainers, and boarding facilities, we are able to rescue countless animals every year and provide them with loving temporary care as we work to find them well-matched forever homes. Although we do not discriminate based on breed, size or color, we have a particular interest in bully breeds, black dogs and other hard-to-place dogs. Our main focus is to help the dogs located within four shelters in the Evansville area - Gibson County Animal Services, Owensboro Animal Control, Evansville Animal Control, and Warrick County Animal Control. We desire to influence our community, and hope to, one day, make a dent in the homeless pet population! In only 3 years, we have been responsible for saving almost 1600 dogs, and we plan on continuing to make this number grow! Our Beginning...
In March 2009, Brietta Stafford found herself in Evansville Animal Care and Control purchasing a city license for her pet. While filling out the required paperwork, she found herself asking a shelter employee how many dogs they euthanized. The answer? "More than 3,000 each year." Brie's life changed that day when she decided it was time for a change for the stray and unwanted dogs of Evansville, Indiana. Brie became the volunteer coordinator for Evansville Animal Care and Control soon after her visit. She instantly started searching for support and rallied a small group of volunteers to help take pictures of each and every dog that walked through animal control's doors and into the ominous pens in the back. Since it's first days, ITV has drastically grown! We started with just a few board members, foster homes, and volunteers, and have now expanded to an organization with enough support to help over 100 dogs at any given time! We could not do this without the support of each and every person in our village whether they be supporters, adopters, fosters, or volunteers! THANK YOU to everybody who has helped and who continues to help us achieve our goals - to show hundreds of dogs exactly what it's like to be loved forever! Meet Our Board! |
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 Executive Director - Tangila Wells Tangila Wells was born and raised in Evansville and as far back as she can remember she has loved animals. Growing up, she always had dogs and cats. Today, Tangila has 3 dogs of her own, Gizmo, Jasmine, and Addison. Tangila has three children, Sierra, Brooklyn, and Jordan and one very supportive husband, Jon. Tangila first became involved with It Takes a Village when she answered ITV’s call for help for a Staffordshire/Boxer mix, Lola, who was going to be euthanized. Tangila fostered her until she was adopted. Lola sparked her love of fostering and now Tangila fosters several dogs at a time and is always willing to lend a hand. Her love for dogs is steadfast and unwavering.  Board Member - Kelly Miller Kelly came across ITV while looking for a new dog after her family's beloved Aussie had passed away. At the time, the rescue didn't have the particular dog that she was looking for so she followed them on Facebook to keep an eye out. She answered the call when temporary fosters were needed for the Christmas holidays and ended up with her first foster, Sparky. She loved having him so much that she continued to answer the call again and again. The rest is history. Her biggest help and support are her husband Greg, daughters Anna (7) and Leah (3), their two fairly tolerant cats, Cory and Bailey as well as their Jack Russell Terrier, Gwenny and Australian Shepherd, Max (adopted through ITV). The Millers love to hike with their dogs and spend time together outdoors. Board Member - Abbey Fraser Abbey is a lifetime animal lover and has a passion for sad and injured animals. ITV came into her life after hearing the rescue center opened. She stopped by and saw a sickly schnauzer mix that needed a foster to nurse her back to health. Several fosters and one failure later she joined the board with her partner, Sarah. In her time away from ITV, Abbey enjoys watching football, nights out with friends, and boating. Board Member - Kevin Schuetz Kevin began his work in rescue through VHS. During a foster-break he saw a group of women and dogs in a Rural King parking lot. Intrigued, he asked who they were with and what they were doing. The rest is history.. Kevin is a dedicated foster and our resident handy-man. Aside from putting his engineering skills to the test, he enjoys jogging, IU Basketball, Cardinal's Baseball, and spending time with his family. |
President - Susan Gainey Odoyo Susan started helping with ITV just before its creation, and became even more involved when we needed so much help starting up! Answering the call and falling in love with our goals, Susan is now as active as ever! Susan is a lawyer who is active in the community! Susan and her husband, Patrick, also passionately support an orphanage in Kenya, Patrick's native country. Susan and Patrick share their home with 4 dogs and countless foster dogs that come and go!  Board Member - Amber Boyd Amber has been working tirelessly with ITV for years, always willing to help out with events and foster dogs. Amber and her husband, Daniel, share a passion for dogs. Amber adopted a pit bull named Cash from ITV and also have a Shi Tzu named Rusty, and a Jack Russell/Shi Tzu puppy named Jack. Amber has a passion for life and you will never see her without a smile on her face. She works full-time for ProgressiveHealth and spends her free time either outdoors or at home with her family.  Vice-President - Tina Witkop Tina first became involved with ITV when she applied to adopt an ITV dog. The dog that Tina wanted was not a good fit for Tina's family, but ITV turned out to be. Tina started fostering for ITV and became more and more active in the rescue. Tina is a veteran and works at the Veterans Administration. Tina shares her home with her son and daughter. Tina's daughter, Kristi, helps Tina tirelessly taking care of their foster dogs and attending ITV events. Board Member - Sarah Cardwell Sarah began rescuing animals as a small child by nursing baby bunnies, squirrels, and birds back to health after being orphaned or injured. Along with her partner, Abbey, Sarah discovered ITV and found a home for herself in rescue. Three cats share their home with Sarah and Abbey, two dogs (Jazzy and Bentley), and several foster dogs at any given time. In her free time, Sarah enjoys reading, computers, and taking naps. |
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