Cast of characters:
Ian Achterberg

You may be curious about Ian’s hairstyle – rest assured it’s not cancer. Ian has alopecia areata universalis, a non-contagious auto-immune disorder that causes his white blood cells to attack his body’s hair follicles. Other than having no hair, Ian is very healthy and in addition to lifting weights, he competes in Varsity Swimming and Track & Field, in addition to playing soccer. If you’d like to know more about alopecia, visit National Alopecia Areata Foundation.
Cara Achterberg

Our family fosters for Operation Paws for Homes, an all-breed rescue made up of a network of foster homes in MD, DC, VA, and south-central PA. To date, we have fostered nearly 150 dogs and puppies (plus two kittens).
Nancy Slattery

Nancy is a photographer who can shoot just about anything, but truly shines when she tackles subjects having to do with the saving of dogs (or her amazing rescue dog, Edith Wharton). A preschool teacher and mother to four baby adults, she loves searching for really good pizza and vintage Alfa Romeos. Lucky Nancy says she is currently married to ‘the best person I know’ for thirty years.
Patty Larson
Originally from Iowa, Patty worked in international development for 15 years and was fortunate to work in more than 15 countries, mainly in Africa. (She was a volunteer in Haiti for 2 years.) Subsequently, she worked in immigration and refugee assistance in Montgomery County, MD where she has lived for 20+ years. She grew up with an English bulldog and two collies and now has three rescue dogs of her own. Patty and her husband, Jerry, started fostering dogs a year ago after being inspired by Cara’s book, Another Good Dog. She brings skills and experience in grant research and writing, organizational development, community outreach, strategic planning and evaluation to assist organizations helping dogs in need. Loves biking, hiking, traveling and learning about other cultures & spending time with dogs of all kinds.