Meet the Team
Amber
Founder
At the sanctuary, I am involved in every aspect of daily life—from coordinating veterinary care and supporting foster families to managing operations and ensuring each dog's individual needs are met. My greatest joy is watching a dog who has experienced hardship discover safety, trust, and love.
Rescue is more than a commitment; it is a way of life. In fact, on the day I eloped, I stopped to rescue a dog along the way. It is a story that has become part of who I am and reflects the belief that every dog deserves compassion and a chance to be seen.
Through New Leash on Love Sanctuary, I am grateful to help create a place where every dog is valued, every story matters, and every life is worth fighting for.
As Co-Founder of New Leash on Love Sanctuary, I am honored to oversee the day-to-day operations of the sanctuary and the care of the dogs who call it home. Every day is dedicated to ensuring our residents receive the love, medical care, enrichment, comfort, and advocacy they need to live safe, happy, and meaningful lives.
For more than 20 years, rescue has been at the heart of everything I do. My passion lies in helping the dogs who are too often overlooked—seniors, dogs with disabilities, owner surrenders, and those facing uncertain futures because they are considered difficult to place. I work closely with local and international rescue partners to provide a path forward for dogs in need, whether through sanctuary care, foster placement, rehabilitation, or helping them find loving homes.
Nikki Meiboom
Director of Sanctuary Operations
Nikki Meiboom serves as the Director of Sanctuary Operations for New Leash On Love Sanctuary, helping ensure that every dog in our care receives compassionate, consistent, and individualized support. She plays a central role in coordinating the day-to-day operations that allow the sanctuary to provide lifelong care for senior, disabled, medically complex, and overlooked rescue dogs.
From welcoming new arrivals and supporting foster placements to coordinating transportation, veterinary appointments, and daily care, Nikki helps turn the sanctuary's mission into action. Her calm leadership, practical problem-solving, and unwavering commitment to animal welfare help create a safe and nurturing environment where each dog can heal and thrive at their own pace.
Working closely with the leadership team, volunteers, and rescue partners, Nikki helps oversee the systems and relationships that keep the sanctuary running smoothly. Her dedication to both the dogs and the people who care for them strengthens New Leash On Love's mission of giving every overlooked dog the dignity, comfort, and second chance they deserve.
Louise
Director of Forever Matches
Louise has spent decades opening her heart and home to the dogs others often overlook—the seniors, the misunderstood, the medically complex, and those who simply needed someone willing to say “yes” when the rest of the world said “no.”
Her passion for rescue is rooted in the belief that every dog deserves a chance to be seen, understood, and loved. Over the years, she has advocated for countless dogs, helping them find the safety, care, and belonging they deserve.
In 2025, Louise welcomed Easy into her family after his journey from a war-torn country through our international rescue partnership. True to his name, Easy settled into family life with remarkable grace, becoming a beloved ambassador for second chances and a daily reminder of why rescue matters.
As Director of Forever Matches, Louise helps guide adopters through the adoption process, ensuring that both dogs and families find the right fit. Her thoughtful approach, rescue experience, and fierce commitment to animal welfare help create successful, lasting placements built on trust and understanding.
Louise believes that every adoption is more than a transaction—it’s the beginning of a love story. She is honored to help families and dogs find one another and to witness the life-changing impact that rescue can have on both ends of the leash.
Vanessa Lodge
Charity & Nonprofit Development Advisor | Governance & Grant Strategy
Vanessa Lodge brings extensive knowledge and experience in nonprofit governance, charitable registration, and organizational development. She works alongside New Leash On Love Sanctuary to help build a strong and sustainable foundation that supports the organization's long-term mission and growth.
Her areas of focus include charitable status applications, nonprofit governance, policy development, board best practices, and grant readiness. Vanessa also provides guidance on organizational structure, compliance, and strategic planning, helping ensure the sanctuary is well positioned for future funding opportunities and responsible growth.
As New Leash On Love continues to evolve, Vanessa's expertise helps transform vision into action by strengthening the systems, processes, and governance that allow the sanctuary to expand its impact. Her thoughtful guidance supports the organization's commitment to providing lifelong care for senior, disabled, medically complex, and overlooked rescue dogs.
The Norton Family
Foster Family Ambassadors
Behind every successful rescue is a safe place to land, and for many dogs, that place is a foster home.
The Norton family embodies everything foster care is meant to be: patience, compassion, flexibility, and a willingness to open both their home and hearts to dogs in transition. While rescue often celebrates the happy ending, fostering is the bridge that makes those endings possible.
Sharing their home with senior dogs Bentley, Douglas and Charlie, playful and lovable rescues from Lebanon, the Nortons understand that every dog arrives with a different story and different needs. Their home provides stability, routine, and the opportunity for dogs to decompress, learn family life, and discover what it feels like to belong.
With three mature teenagers helping to provide affection, enrichment, and companionship, foster dogs are welcomed into a busy but loving environment where they can safely build confidence and prepare for their forever homes.
The Nortons are inspired by the resilience of rescue dogs and the incredible transformations that happen when animals are given time, patience, and unconditional love. They believe that fostering is one of the most meaningful ways to make a difference in rescue, creating space for dogs to heal while opening opportunities for countless others to be saved.
In rescue, foster homes are priceless. They provide comfort during uncertainty, guidance during transition, and hope during new beginnings. The Norton family helps make all of that possible, one dog at a time.
Their greatest reward is watching a dog leave their home not because they are unwanted, but because they have found exactly where they belong.
Kristin Harris
Digital & Creative Director, Sanctuary Rescue
Kristin is the heart behind the look, feel, and flow of Sanctuary Rescue’s creative world. With a rare blend of vision and practicality, she takes ideas and gently shapes them into something real, whether that’s a story shared online, a design that speaks without words, or a system that helps everything run more smoothly behind the scenes.
Her work is both creative and deeply grounding. She brings order to inspiration, structure to imagination, and beauty to purpose, making sure that what we share with the world truly reflects who we are and what we stand for. From organizing digital spaces to guiding creative direction across web, social media, merch, and campaigns, she helps everything connect in a way that feels intentional and alive.
What she creates isn’t just design, it’s clarity, cohesion, and care woven into form. Her vision helps others see Sanctuary Rescue more clearly, feel it more deeply, and understand the importance of the work being done every day.
Her presence in this work is essential. She doesn’t just support the mission, she helps give it shape, voice, and visibility, turning compassion into something people can see, feel, and act upon.