Finding Community w/ Anna Lai

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Muddy Paws Rescue’s Own Anna Lai Found Community, Career, and Love From Her Dog

Anna Lai

About The Episode

Anna was living in Australia when her boyfriend (now husband) ended up moving to New York City. They tried long distance at first, but eventually, Anna made the move over herself, too.

When she moved, she also left behind her family dog (a Maltese rescue). She felt that void when she was here of a dog in her life, and at the same time, she and husband were also having trouble meeting people in this new place of New York City. On top of that, she felt she was being less active and in general just the routine of having a dog.

She was working in the advertising industry in Manhattan and would spend certain lunch breaks with co-workers going to nearby Madison Square Park to see the dogs there and cheer themselves up.

While trying to get into the Hamilton soundtrack and get into the idea of New York, she started following Lin Manuel Miranda on Twitter. It was this that led to Lin sharing a post about a dog that needed to be rescued. Anna decided to go for it and rescued Peggy, her now dog, from Muddy Paws Rescue.

But that link was also one of a bigger chain of events, as Anna then became the Marketing Director at Muddy Paws Rescue, where she is currently working. So just off that, she changed her professional career.

It didn’t stop there. Besides bringing personal happiness to her life, Anna then found a community of other dog people in NYC and finally was able to find her people in this new place she hadn’t been able to navigate the strangers who can sometimes be cold and distant.

About The Guest

Anna Lai came over from New York from Australia and has gone from a life in advertising and digital media to now using those talents to be the Marketing Director for the Muddy Paws Rescue organization in NYC. Muddy Paws provides progressive, responsible, foster-based rescue and the company has already made a big impact in a short amount of time. It all started with Anna adopting her own dog, Peggy, from the organization, and since became more and more motivated to help - as well as becoming part of the overall dog community in New York City, finding her people in what was before an isolated and lonely new city.

Featured Links

InterviewJack SommerCommunity, Rescue / Service