Today we’d like to introduce you to Hattie Kirby.
Hi Hattie, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a deep connection with animals. My family would always joke that I was going to be a veterinarian someday, and that’s still the ultimate goal!
As soon as I was old enough, I started volunteering and looking for any opportunity to get involved in animal rescue. When I was 17, I took a job as a kennel attendant at Rose City Veterinary Hospital. That job introduced me to veterinary medicine and quickly became something I fell completely in love with. Even though I was initially working more behind the scenes, I was constantly asking to learn more, take on more responsibility, and become more involved.
That eventually led me to where I am today: working as a Veterinary Assistant and Technician Assistant at the same practice for over six years.
Over the years, working in veterinary medicine opened my eyes to just how many local pet owners struggle to care for their animals. Sometimes the barrier is financial, sometimes it’s physical or logistical, and sometimes people simply don’t have the resources or support system they need. I started realizing that there were so many animals who could stay with their families if they just had a little extra help—and so many others who needed someone to step in when that wasn’t possible.
I knew I wanted to be part of that solution, and I developed a deep love for dog and cat rescue. The pet overpopulation and homelessness crisis in Portland is enormous, and I know I can’t solve it on my own. But I also realized just how many people in our community care deeply about these animals and genuinely want to help.
I started building connections with other like-minded people who wanted to get involved, and I volunteered and fostered with several incredible local rescues. Through those experiences, I discovered that I was especially passionate about helping the animals who are often the hardest to place. The neglected, senior, neonate, medically complex, and otherwise overlooked cases.
That’s what eventually led to Hattie’s Foster Haven.
What started as what felt like a completely unrealistic little idea somehow became something very real, largely because of the incredible community that has rallied around it. Hattie’s Foster Haven focuses on giving animals a second chance, particularly those who may have been turned away by traditional shelters or rescues because of their age, medical needs, or neglect.
We’re still growing every day, building our network of fosters, volunteers, supporters, and community partners, but I truly couldn’t imagine doing anything else.
There is something incredibly special about taking an animal who has been overlooked or given up on and watching them finally realize that they are safe, loved, and worth fighting for. That is what keeps me going, and I genuinely love every part of what I do.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Rescue is incredibly rewarding, but it is also one of the hardest things I’ve ever taken on.
One of the biggest struggles has been learning that I can’t save every animal. When you work in rescue and veterinary medicine, you see so many animals who need help, and it can be really difficult to know that you simply don’t have the space, resources, or ability to take every case. Learning to set boundaries and recognize my own limits has been one of the hardest and most important lessons for me.
There have also been the very practical challenges of starting a rescue from the ground up. Veterinary care is expensive, especially when you’re taking on senior, neglected, or medically complex animals. Finding fosters, raising funds, coordinating care, and trying to balance rescue with a full-time job in veterinary medicine can be a lot. There have definitely been moments where I’ve wondered how or if I was going to make everything work.
Some of the hardest cases are also the ones that stay with you. When an animal comes to you after experiencing neglect or suffering, you can’t always undo what has happened to them. You just do everything you can to give them something better moving forward.
But I think those challenges have also shaped Hattie’s Foster Haven into what it is. They’ve taught me to ask for help, to lean on my community, and to understand that rescue doesn’t have to be one person doing everything. It takes fosters, volunteers, veterinary professionals, donors, adopters, and people who are simply willing to care.
The road definitely hasn’t been smooth, but every time I see an animal who came to us scared, sick, or overlooked finally feel safe and loved, it reminds me why I started in the first place. Those moments make all of the difficult ones worth it.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Hattie’s Foster Haven is a small foster based animal rescue focused primarily on cats and dogs who need a little or sometimes a lot more help than the average rescue case.
Because of my background in veterinary medicine, I have a particular passion for medical, senior, neglected, and special needs animals. These are often the animals who are more difficult for traditional shelters or rescues to take on because they require additional veterinary care, rehabilitation, patience, or resources. Those are exactly the cases that tend to pull at my heart the most.
I’m fortunate to have hands on veterinary experience, so I’m able to recognize medical concerns, communicate closely with veterinarians, help coordinate treatment, and provide a high level of day to day care and rehabilitation for my fosters. I’m especially passionate about neonatal and medically fragile kittens, animals recovering from neglect, and cases that require a lot of patience and individualized care.
But rescue isn’t just about getting an animal healthy enough to be adopted. I really believe in figuring out what each individual animal needs to thrive. Sometimes that means medical treatment. Sometimes it means behavioral support, socialization, training, or simply giving an animal a safe place to decompress and learn what it feels like to be loved.
What I’m most proud of is the fact that Hattie’s Foster Haven was built around the idea that difficult does not mean hopeless. An animal being old, sick, scared, overlooked, or complicated doesn’t make them any less deserving of a chance.
I think what sets us apart is the level of individualized care we’re able to provide. We’re intentionally small, which allows me to be very involved in each case and make decisions based on the needs of the individual animal rather than trying to fit them into a one-size-fits-all system.
I’m also incredibly proud of the community we’re building. Hattie’s Foster Haven may have started with me, but it absolutely cannot and shouldn’t be about me alone. Our fosters, volunteers, veterinary partners, adopters, donors, and supporters are what make this possible.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Honestly, I think I was probably destined to do this from a pretty young age. I was always the kid who was completely obsessed with animals. If there was an animal around, I was probably trying to make friends with it, bring it home, or figure out how to help it.
I was definitely a little quirky, independent, and very curious. I’ve always been the type of person who wants to understand how things work and, more importantly, wants to figure out how to fix things when they don’t. I’ve never been particularly good at sitting back and watching something that needs help.
Animals were always my biggest interest, but I’ve also always loved learning and being hands-on. I gravitated toward things where I could actually do something rather than just read about it. I think that’s a big part of why veterinary medicine ended up being such a natural fit for me.
Looking back, I can see that a lot of the qualities I had as a kid are still very much a part of me now. I was stubborn in the best and probably occasionally worst way, incredibly determined, and I cared very deeply about things. Once I decided something mattered to me, I was going to find a way to make it happen.
My family would always tell me that I was going to become a veterinarian someday, and I think they probably figured it out before I did. Even now, becoming a veterinarian is still one of my biggest goals.
So, while I’ve obviously grown and changed a lot, I think the core of who I was as a kid is still there: I love animals, I’m endlessly curious, and I have a really hard time walking away from something or someone who needs help.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.hattiesfosterhaven.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hattiesfosterhaven
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Hattiesfosterhaven-61590557891440/
- Other: https://linktr.ee/hattiesfosterhaven
