Meet Gwenn Vallone

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Gwenn Vallone a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

GWENN, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?

I had a very scattered childhood; my natural father left home when I was very young and then my mother died when I was only nine. Even though there was quite a bit of chaos around me, I learned at an early age how to take care of myself and do what was necessary to ensure I was ok. I feel like after surviving those early traumas, nothing worse could happen so I was extremely resilient to life happenings that would otherwise derail a person who didn’t learn how to survive tragedy earlier.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

Very early in my life dogs were extremely important to me. Once I was out on my own, I volunteered at local shelters as part of a ‘brigade’ and we did what was necessary to help at each shelter. I came across pugs and was intrigued by the unique breed. I was volunteering at a Super Adoption event and saw a booth occupied by a pug rescue group, began volunteering with them, and after that rescue started to fail, joined up with other volunteers to start our own nonprofit rescue for pugs called Pug Nation Rescue of Los Angeles. I had my own full-time mailing business at the time we started the rescue and as the years went by it became increasingly difficult to supervise the rescue and run my own business, so about 10 years ago I was able to sell my business and give 100% of my time to Pug Nation. It is the best decision I ever made! In the 13+ years we have been in existence Pug Nation has grown so much and I’m proud to say we’ve rescued and re-homed over 3,100 pugs and related breeds! We are constantly expanding and changing to meet the increasing numbers of pugs needing rescue. Just this last year we added 50% more isolation space and 3 more staff members. Our mission is to leave no pug in need and to change their lives “One Pug at a Time”.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I think I have been successful in building Pug Nation Rescue because of my perseverance, dedication and discipline, and business sense. When I am passionate about something I never give up and there were many obstacles with the rescue but I kept pushing through. Dedication and discipline are important qualities to run any business, especially a rescue. You have to focus on the dogs and realize there may be a lot of drama in rescue, a lot of people out there that don’t understand and have strong opinions, and you have to remain focused on the goal of helping the animals. You have to stay disciplined with this practice. Lastly, I believe that being a small business owner before starting the rescue was a great benefit because although rescue is about the animals and passion and caring, you still have to run it as a business to make sure you have the people, structure and funding properly in place. I think the combination of experience and my personality makes me well-suited to lead Pug Nation. If I had to counsel someone who wanted to start a small business or a rescue, I think one of the most important things to know is to start small and grow small; do not over-expand or try to grow too quickly. Stay within your means. Some rescues mean well but over-extend and can’t properly take care of the animals they have. Many businesses fail because they take loans to buy equipment they can’t support yet. It’s very important to go slowly!

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

When I feel overwhelmed, I have learned to take a break. So, if I’m at the rescue, I walk away from the phone or computer and take a few dogs for a walk. It centers me, reminds me of why I’m doing what I do and calms me down. I think most people react well to being outside, getting some fresh air so whether it was early in my career in a corporate setting, running my own business or now at the rescue, taking a brisk walk did wonders when I was overwhelmed. Also, I have learned that if I am feeling overwhelmed I’m probably tired or too many things are going on at once so I have learned to focus on ONE thing and accomplish that and try not to worry about multiple problems that are waiting to be solved.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.pugnationla.org
• Instagram: @pugnationla
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PugNationRescueofLosAngeles
• Youtube: @PugNationRescueOfLosAngeles
• Yelp: Pug Nation Rescue of Los Angeles

Image Credits

Eric Norris