Sarah Bonomo grew up and lives in Westchester, New York. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Honors Program at SUNY Oswego with a Bachelor of Science in Zoology. For her undergraduate thesis, she constructed a study to analyze the stress levels of rescue dogs housed in different settings: a shelter; daycare; and foster homes.

 

 Sarah has always been passionate about animals but dogs have been her focus ever since her family adopted their first dog, Diesel. Having a dog that was labeled a “problem,” Sarah was inspired to understand the motivation behind her puppy’s behavior. Sarah also had a number of rescued hamsters and hermit crabs that helped her learn about caring for animals at a young age. Sarah was only in 6th grade when she became vegan! Sarah volunteers with several shelter and rescue groups and works full-time at her own dog training and hiking business called All 4 Paws, LLC. 

 

Sarah is a Fear-Free Certified Dog Trainer with certification through CATCH Canine Trainer’s Academy. One day, Sarah hopes to open her own dog rescue, where she can use all of her behavioral knowledge and experience to help dogs find their forever families. When she is not working with other families’ dogs, Sarah loves taking long walks with her dog Russell.

 

Abby McCormick-Foley grew up and currently resides in Albany, New York. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Spanish at the Honors Program at SUNY Oswego, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude. Abby then graduated from Albany Law School and was admitted to practice in New York State and the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of New York.                   

 

Abby’s passion for animals began during childhood, when she loved and cared for her family’s cats and constantly begged her parents for a dog. In high school, Abby started an animal right’s club and began protesting with local groups against Ringling Bros. Circus. After becoming increasingly involved  in the local animal activist community, Abby went vegetarian and later transitioned to veganism. Today, she is on a mission to improve animals’ quality of life by increasing awareness for animal  welfare. She is always on the look-out for an animal in need or for an opportunity to enhance a pet-parent’s understanding of their animal!

 

Abby is an Associate Attorney at a boutique law firm specializing in criminal defense and civil defense. She plans on using her law career to pursue her passion of helping both people and animals.  In her free time, Abby enjoys relaxing with her two cats and spending time with her family.

Sarah & Abby

Sarah and Abby met just before they started college at SUNY Oswego on the school’s accepted students’ page. Realizing they were both vegan, they decided to dorm together for their freshman year. They never thought that their new roommate would become their very best friend. After they considered how many animals needed help, they committed to starting a non-profit. After several arguments about name choice, Protectors of Paws & Claws was created. Sarah & Abby hope that this organization will help them continue doing the rescue work that they love and also help to spread knowledge and awareness about the many issues facing animals today.