Meet Mary Malarkey and Olive

Meet Mary Malarkey and Olive

Volunteer Spotlight: Meet Mary Malarkey, A Champion for Special Needs Dogs

Hallie Hill Animal Sanctuary is fortunate to have wonderful volunteers like Mary Malarkey. Mary grew up in Washington, DC, and graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park in 1981 with a degree in Microbiology. After graduation, Mary embarked on a career for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), serving the public proudly for over 32 years. Mary has always been drawn to the water, and after falling in love with Charleston, decided to make it her permanent home in 2021. Mary now resides on Johns Island with her rescue dog Milo Louie, and her Partner, Rob. Mary is a proud stepmom, Grandma Mary to six, Oma to one, and has recently welcomed her fourth great-grandchild.

Mary’s lifelong love for animals was deepened by her 15 years of volunteer experience at a rescue group in Maryland. Upon retiring, Mary wasted no time getting involved with Hallie Hill and has become a valuable member of our volunteer team here at the Sanctuary. Special needs dogs hold a special place in Mary’s heart. She finds it incredibly rewarding to connect with and see these dogs open up after all they have endured. One such dog is Olive, a sweet and shy soul who came to us from an overcrowded shelter. Olive struggled at first and was very timid around people. With Mary’s tender love and care, Olive has begun to open up and make tremendous progress.

Mary’s enthusiasm extends beyond the animals – she cherishes the relationships she’s built with other volunteers and has described it as a privilege being able to work with such caring folks. Thank you Mary for your unwavering commitment to Hallie Hill Animal Sanctuary, our animals, and our team.

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Michele Griffin, CPDT-KA

Michele Griffin, CPDT-KA

Michele Griffin is the Assistant Director and Adoptions Coordinator at Hallie Hill Animal Sanctuary. She is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer – Knowledge Assessed, as well as a licensed Family Paws Educator. In her spare time, she volunteers for two dog rescue organizations, Basenji Rescue and Transport (BRAT) and Husky Education and Rescue Team (HEART).
 
Michele’s professional background includes various positions in dog daycare, veterinary assistant, volunteer management, and dog behavior in open-intake animal shelters locally and in New York, as well as a US Air Force veteran.
 
Originally from upstate New York, Michele currently resides in Summerville with her husband, Shawn, two young adult children, and three American Pit Bull Terriers; Lydia, George, and Arlo. Michele is passionate about keeping dogs in their forever homes by helping others understand why dogs do what they do and how they communicate through their body language. Her favorite part of her job at Hallie Hill is counseling potential adopters. She helps them decide what pet would be the best choice for their lifestyle and she supports adopters at any time with challenges they may be having with their pet by using compassionate, humane, methods of training. Michele is a wonderful addition to our Hallie Hill team and we are so happy to have her!

Jennifer Middleton, CAWA

Jennifer Middleton, CAWA

Jennifer Middleton is a certified animal welfare administrator and serves as the Executive Director. Her passion for Hallie Hill’s mission explains her abundance of enthusiasm and a “no quitting” attitude. Jennifer grew up in the Hollywood area and found herself rescuing animals of all kinds throughout her childhood and into adulthood. Whether it be orphaned opossums or dogs from the roadside- she could not turn away from an animal in distress.

Graduating from College of Charleston, she enjoyed a successful career as a science and math teacher in Charleston County public schools for 17 years. During her time in the classroom, she achieved National Board certification in early adolescent science and was awarded Teacher of the Year for Charleston County in 2006/2007. Her passion for learning, teaching, and caring for others has never waned.

Jennifer lives in Meggett happily married to Benji. They have two sons: Ben and Josh. They also have four-legged children: dogs named Ace and Buck.

Daisy McKenzie

Daisy McKenzie

Daisy McKenzie is an animal care provider and also assists with maintenance. Daisy distributes medications, feeds, cleans, and grooms. Daisy But this girl isn’t afraid to get dirty- and can also be found mowing the grass and running the tractor. Daisy grew up in a farm like environment, caring for not only dogs and cats, but horses, goats, rabbits, chickens, and more. Her love of animals is unsurpassed and she has a very special way with our feline residents. Daisy completed the Fear Free Shelter Program, graduated from West Ashley High School and lives in Adams Run with her four-legged children: dogs named Gator, Ginger, Sugar, Sybil, and Maggie and cats named Delta, Fred and Candy.

Michele Griffin, CPDT-KA

Michele Griffin is the Assistant Director and Adoptions Coordinator at Hallie Hill. Michele comes to us with experience as a Volunteer Coordinator, Dog Behavior/Enrichment Manager, and lifelong animal lover. She is skilled, professional, and a great communicator with people and animals alike. She is a wonderful addition to our Hallie Hill team, and we are so happy to have her!

Daniela Schneider

Daniela Schneider is an animal care provider and helping hand. Daniela was born in Germany, and speaks German fluently. She moved to the US at age 4, but continues to travel all over. Daniela works PRN in Physical Therapy and has worked as a Pharmaceutical Sales Rep for approximately 9 years. She started as a volunteer at Hallie Hill many years ago. She now works for the sanctuary part-time doing animal care, and anything else that may come up. Hard-working and always in-shape, Daniela is prepared to take on any task that comes her way! She lives with her partner and 3 wonderful pups (including 1 Hallie Hill pup) in Hollywood.