Alana (Wuertz) Swiderski
Foster Program Co-Chair
Alana (Wuertz) Swiderski has been involved in Gateway Pet Guardians since 2011. She is the Foster Program Co-Chair, heading up the foster mentor team and home visit team for the program. Her favorite thing about her position is doing home visits for potential adopters and fosters. She gets to meet new people that are extremely excited about bringing a new dog into their home, and share things about GPG with them!
Her favorite GPG event was the golf tournament fundraiser in 2012. Her husband, Adam, got a team together and Alana took their foster dog over there. The dog got a ton of exposure, and was able to play fetch with a bunch of people. Alana loved seeing her in the spotlight with a bunch of new people. Plus, she loves outdoor events!
Alana’s favorite GPG dog was Zoey (PJ named her Kansas because she was rescued on/near Kansas Street in ESTL). Alana and her husband were approved to foster and waited about a month before they got a foster dog. Jamie texted her a photo of Zoey, told her she had a problem with her leg, and asked if she could foster her. Of course they said yes! She was heartworm positive, and had a gunshot wound to her leg. Zoey underwent treatment for her heartworms and multiple surgeries to fix her leg. She spent 9 months in a cone! She faced so much adversity but was so loving throughout the entire ordeal. She loves people! She doesn’t know any strangers and will snuggle with anyone. She spent 14 months with Alana and her husband before they adopted her. She was a lot of work (they lived in a second story apartment and had to balance the sickly pup and their healthy dog), but she made them better people.
Since they adopted Zoey, Alana’s favorite type of dog to foster is a young, submissive, playful, adult male. They tend to fit in best with her dominant male and female. Zoey loves having a foster playmate! Since Zoey, they have fostered 2 males and 2 females. Their current foster is Piccolo.
Alana and her husband live in South City. She is a nurse in the operating room, and he is a Senior in Assurance Services with a big four accounting firm. In addition to Zoe, they also have Harley, a 5-year-old Golden Retriever/Lab mix they got from a foster-based rescue in Kirksville, MO after graduating from Truman State University.
GPG is Alana’s favorite hobby. When she is not working as a nurse, she is often “working” on GPG in some way/shape/form! Outside of GPG, she enjoys spending time with her husband and furkids. They hike at Castlewood, go to the “DP,” and go on frequent “W’s” (those are code for dog park and walk). She enjoys running and biking, and she plays soccer recreationally. During the summer, you can often find Alana and her family at Table Rock Lake.
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