Dawn DeFraties, or her better known street name “Dawn DTF (Down To Fundraise) DeFraties ” always brings her back up in the form of two pit bulls known as Marshall and Bonnie. Marshall acts like a cat which really isn’t helpful in most cases, and Bonnie screams like a person which unnerves a lot of people.  Dawn dreams of a day where she gets a cute but misunderstood opossum named Merle to saddle up on her most useful dog, Bonnie.  Together, Merle and Bonnie will ride into battle against underfunded animal rescue operations with Dawn. As for Marshall, he will be busy back at home knocking over a glass of water.   After the battle is won, or perhaps after a raucous Wigs and Muumuus party, they will all get matching tattoos of each other to commemorate the good times. Dawn is known to be a fierce and persistent fighter which are genetic traits and a “Family Tradition,” like the Hank Williams Jr song in real life.  Instead of singing about drinking, smoking, and writing songs, they use empathy and stand up for what is right like her great grandfather (4 generations back).  He was one of the 15 men that saved Illinois from being a slave state.  Wherever mistreatment and wrongdoing exist, you can count on Dawn to show up and show out to defend those that can’t defend themselves.

Dana Ball has had many furry friends close to her heart over the years.  Three rescues Presley, Prescott, and Jagger are forever in her heart.  Her current three kiddos are Josephine from Oklahoma, and two street cats: an always classy tuxedo kitty Vesper Rose and an equally distinguished lady feline named Lucille who has the benefit of 24 toe beans to slap her squad. Josephine loves to claim unused park benches as her own, Lucille has a sweet tooth that needs a restraining order when PopTarts or Lorna Doones are out, and Vesper Rose loves love and shows it by giving out hugs. Dana dreams of a day where she gets both a panda bear and dolphin, separately.  She will Power nap with the panda in the morning and gain the friendship and acceptance into a dolphin family pod in the afternoon. Dana’s guiding principles are reminiscent of the Spice Girls who Wanna Be your friend with connection that never ends. She is empathetic and listens to what people, clients, and animals need and responds by doing what is needed immediately as well as laying out a persuasive, competent, and comprehensive long-term plan while building and maintaining relationships.  On the less serious side, she enjoys putting dog tattoos on people and people tattoos on dogs, especially Dawn DTF DeFraties.  When Dana is the wind beneath your wings, even turkeys can fly and soar to the clouds.

Amy has had many pets over the years with 2 current ones.  A shy Irish Setter named Scarlett who enjoys eating weeds and cookies treats and a cat received into her care from her mom ten years ago named Buffy.  Buffy is 21 years old and is a testament to Amy’s astonishing level of care and Buffy’s unsatiable love of cheese treats at all times of the day and night. Scarlett’s primary drive is jealousy when you pet another animal other than her.  This jealousy causes her to drop everything and use her giraffe like neck to get to the source of the pets and scritches.  Amy’s dream pets would be a smiling donkey or a llama because both animal breeds are known to protect their flock and raise copious money for animal volunteer organizations.  They also make her smile.  It would not be beyond imagination that Amy would purchase a van to haul her llamas and call it a llamasine (llama limousine).  Amy’s background, including nuclear medicine, management, and project management, would be the envy of any organization.  It falls into perfect harmony at Feral Funders with disciplined and organized events, fundraisers, and projects.  Amy ensures that everything runs smoothly and professionally, and she is always looking for ways to improve relationships and working together to reach goals. In her spare time Amy likes photography of pets and animals.  As a daughter of a dairy farmer, Amy learned what hard work was and the determination it took to take care of animals and doing right by them. 

Denise has two dogs currently: Ozzy and a sus dog with multiple street names: Ebee is his Christian name, but he also answers to Boo-boo and Big Boy.  Ozzy’s favorite game is ghost where he throws a blanket over himself despite not having opposable thumbs and then proceeds to run around the room, running into things that go bump in the day, evening, and night. Denise’s dream pet would be a dragon that carries her through the air and would be a trustworthy companion.  Denise’s professional life included a long stint as an RN which stands for Registered Nurse, not Refreshments and Narcotics, in case you wondered.  This profession allowed her to display her strengths on a daily, and sometimes hourly basis of listening, problem solving, and compassion. Another love for Denise was writing where she discovered that unless you are very, very good, you will be a starving artist.  She is married to a man named Bill for over three decades and counting.  They have a daughter, son-in-law/outlaw with 3 awesome grandchildren.

Mary has grown up in central Illinois (we think) with a strong Irish spirit (we think).  The rumor of her kissing the Blarney Stone and crying out in Gaelic, ”Is minic a rinne bromach gioblach capall!” which we all know as “A raggy horse makes a powerful horse.”  She didn’t know it at the time, but this statement pretty much foretold the birth of Feral Funders in the coming years.  Her husband Rob has been known to work with radioactive materials for the good of mankind.  They will be building a nuclear family as well with a baby on the way.  There is talk of naming the child Atom, but nothing has been finalized yet.