our people

Eva

Eva

Founder & CEO

Eva’s passion for animal rescue sparked when she began volunteering at a local animal shelter while studying to become a veterinary nurse back in 2011. Once Eva attained her Cert IV Veterinary Nursing qualification she felt she could do more for vulnerable and often misunderstood animals and so she launched Project Underdog Rescue.

Since launching PUR in 2015 and leaving her job as Practice Manager of a small animal veterinary clinic in 2020, Eva has completed multiple courses including; the Fear Free Elite Veterinary Professional Certification, Karen Pryor’s Better Veterinary Visits Certification, Dr Sophia Yin’s Low Stress Handling Certification and the ISFM Cat Friendly Professional Certification.

“I consider myself blessed to have such a dedicated team around me who share in my passion for animal welfare and force-free philosophies. The PUR community are some of the most loyal, generous and supportive people on the planet.”

Tom

Tom

Vice President

Tom first began volunteering for PUR after adopting Penny, his second PUR alumni, in 2018. Initially he worked as a Case Manager but has since stepped up to become our Vice President and Animal Rescue Program Leader.

Tom also heads up Happy Dog Project, PUR’s number one choice for animal training and behaviour advice. He has a Certificate IV in Companion Animal Services with the Delta Institute and is a Certified Fear Free Animal Trainer and Separation Anxiety Pro Trainer.

Tom is also a member of the Pet Professional Guild of Australia, the leading body representing Force-Free Pet Professionals.

Tom’s fur family includes two PUR Alumni animals: Rosie, the 10-year-old staffy x rottweiler who makes a habit of staring at guests until they move from her spot on the couch; and Penny, a 5-year-old staffy x that brings joyful chaos to the house from the moment she wakes Tom up by gently biting him on the thigh.

Linda

Linda

Treasurer

Linda is an original founding member of PUR, working with Eva to get our organisation up and running way back in 2015.

Linda is the guardian of Ripper, a 12-year-old English staffy, and Pepper, a 9-year-old English staffy. She also gave a loving home to our beloved PUR alumni Harley, a great dane x rottweiler who crossed the rainbow bridge in 2020 at age 10.

Linda’s favourite thing about working in rescue is seeing animals transform from being sad and distant, to finding their confidence and happy personalities as they start to know love and consistency.

“The satisfaction you get from seeing the transformation and witnessing a soul change and glow is incomparable!”

Hannah

Hannah

Secretary

Hannah is a veterinary nurse and first became a part of the PUR family when she joined our foster carer network, later joining as a case manager in 2021 and then taking on the role as Secretary in 2023.

Hannah is the guardian of Margie, a 4-year-old staffy x frenchie, with three legs, the cutest little face, and a penchant for carrying shoes around the house when she is happy.

Hannah is Fear Free certified is very passionate about a force free approach; this is one of the things she loves most about working with PUR. She believes in treating every animal with kindness, patience and understanding, which is exactly why we love having her on our team!

“PUR’s fear free approach helps animals from tough backgrounds regain their confidence and become their best selves.”

Kerryn

Kerryn

Force Free Trainer

Profile coming soon

Sinead

Sinead

Community Engagement

Sinead is a qualified veterinary nurse with over 11 years’ experience working with cats, dogs, wildlife and farm animals. She is a mental health first aider and mental health advocate, studying to complete her diploma in counselling.

Sinead is the founder of Let’s Talk About Feeling Ruff and is the brains behind the Vet Mental Health Ball.

Sinead lives in a beautiful part of Victoria – the Yarra Valley with her Hubby Chris and their two spoilt loves – Lulu the Frenchie and Felix the house cat.

Grace

Grace

Case Manager

Growing up in a household that always had several cats and dogs, Grace has always had a soft spot for animals and wanted to help. This led her to becoming a foster carer with Project Underdog in 2022.

At one point Grace was fostering a whole litter of kittens, and often jokes that it was the best time of her life. Naturally, to no surprise of their family and friends, Grace and her partner Nathan were foster failures. They are now proud parents of Iris and her very cheeky daughter Magnolia!

When she isn’t busy spoiling her fur babies, Grace works in the legal industry, where she project manages the discovery process for legal matters. Grace finds great fulfillment in her work with PUR and is very grateful to be a small part of everything the incredible PUR team achieves!

Isabelle

Isabelle

Case Manager

Isabelle’s love for animals started from when she was a child and would spend hours a day playing with her best friend and family dog, Chloe. Since then, Isabelle has always been a big animal lover. Isabelle is a proud cat mum of two beautiful fur children, Winnie & Aster.

Isabelle fell in love with Winnie and soon realised she needed a little sister to play with, resulting in Isabelle adopting little Aster from PUR and that’s when Isabelle’s journey with Project Underdog Rescue begun. Isabelle enjoys knowing that she is part of a great organisation that is dedicated to making sure all furry friends have loving homes.

When Isabelle isn’t carrying Winnie around like a baby or trying to get Aster to stay still for a photo, she works in the disability industry supporting the early childhood space.

Bridie

Bridie

Case Manager

Bridie joined our team in 2020. She has several years of experience working in animal rescue including specialist experience raising neonatal kittens.

Funnily enough, despite being our cat case manager, Bridie is yet to welcome a cat into her forever family! She is currently the guardian of Buzz, a 10-year-old cavoodle that has been with her for two and a half years.

Having volunteered with many other rescue groups, Bridie’s favourite thing about PUR is our focus on quality over quantity – we are dedicated to this value and never want to grow to a point where we cannot give personalised care to every animal in our foster program.

“I love being part of a team that is focused solely on the best interests of the animals. The fact that I am always learning new things is just a plus!”

Kate

Kate

Veterinary Nurse & Office Manager

Kate officially joined PUR in 2020, although she had previously helped with the medical care of some PUR alumni animals in her role as a vet nurse.

Kate is a Fear Free Certified Veterinary Nurse and is passionate about providing gentle and compassionate care to all animals.

Kate’s fur family includes Millie, a 13-year-old cocker spaniel cross, and Boss and Olive, her pair of PUR alumni mischievous cats.

Kate’s favourite thing about working in rescue is seeing the positive change in rescue animals when they are given proper vet care and the TLC that many of them haven’t had in their lives before.

“I just love working with and meeting so many amazing people who devote so much time and effort into giving animals a second chance at life.”

Brigida

Brigida

Veterinarian

Dr Brigida first joined PUR in 2019 and is now the head veterinarian at Project Underdog Veterinary Care, Melbourne’s first 100% Fear Free Certified mobile vet clinic and the perfect choice for anxious companion animals.

Dr Brigida is passionate about providing the highest standard of care to each and every patient she sees and will always take the time to explain her observations, treatment plans and recommendations.

Her favourite thing about working in animal rescue is seeing the transformation animals undergo from when they first enter PUR’s rescue program to when they find their perfect forever homes and beyond.

“All animals have a beautiful soul regardless of breed. It is up to us to pay attention to and then address the many behavioural signs they show, which could indicate pain, fear or anxiety.”

Thulz

Thulz

Veterinarian

Thulasi (Thulz) graduated from Murdoch University in Perth and moved to Melbourne to work as a small animal veterinarian. She quickly developed a special interest in pet behaviour and began working in the behaviour team at a leading animal welfare shelter.

Her desire to support fearful animals and learn more about animal behaviour led her to attain her memberships from the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists (ANZVCS) in the area of behavioural medicine.

Thulz considers it part of her job to recognise and address signs of fear, anxiety and stress (FAS) in her patients and enjoys working with pet parents to find practical solutions for a harmonious outcome for all. She is also passionate about senior/geriatric care and recognises it as an important life stage to ensure her patients are living their best quality of life.