By Shaina Stockton | New River Voice correspondent

To Ali Tobia, former executive director at the Pulaski County Humane Society, no shelter animal that enters or leaves is just a dog or a cat. Tobia knows them all by name and personality. She establishes a connection that impacts each animal and stays with them even when they have found a new home.

“We have a rescue transport that runs from Roanoke to Northern Virginia,” Tobia says. She recalls her time with the humane society using the present tense — as though she never left. “I saw one of our adult dogs that was on transport. He saw me and lit up. The foster mom said to me, ‘Oh wow, he knows you!’”

This type of bond is important to Tobia in her line of work. Her experiences at the shelter, along with a lifelong love for animals, inspired her to pursue a career as a shelter veterinarian. “What draws me to the shelter environment is giving the animals a sense of family,” Tobia said.

Today, at 24, Tobia lives in Starkville, Miss., where she is enrolled in the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine. She plans to graduate in 2015.

“I have no spare time,” Tobia laughed when asked about her hobbies and extracurricular activities. “All I do is go to class study, sleep, and take care of my dog. That’s it! But it’s so worth it and I am having a lot of fun.”

Candice Simmons took over as executive director after Tobia left for school. “Everything I hear about Ali is very positive,” Simmons said. “It speaks highly of her that she was promoted to interim director so quickly.”

Still close with the society that helped her along her career path, Tobia keeps touch through email. “This is a great relief to those of us who are new at this,” Simmons said.

Tobia learned from living in several places that home is defined by family, not location. She was born in New York, N.Y. She spent many years living with her family in Fairfax Station, Va., and spent four years living in Asia. After graduating high school in 2005, she went on to obtain a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the College of William and Mary in 2009.

“I first became involved in [the Pulaski County Humane Society] because I adopted my dog Nicci from them,” Tobia said. “I was looking for hands-on experience to add to my vet school resume.”

After graduating from college, Tobia wanted to establish a sense of independence, while still remaining close enough to keep in touch with her family. “My sister goes to Virginia Tech, so the Blacksburg/Christiansburg area was a good choice,” Tobia said.

Tobia gained more experience than she expected from working at the shelter. She became the rescue coordinator in August 2009 and volunteered for spay/neuter clinics and several other events. The board of directors praised her hard work and granted her a paid position. “I was so grateful for that, because it meant they noticed how hard I was working to make a difference,” Tobia said.

Tobia went on to add spay clinic coordinator and executive director to her résumé. “It’s not at all where I expected to end up when I started volunteering but I was beyond thrilled with the experience,” Tobia said.

Tobia’s other goals include opening her own animal rescue organization. “I would love to have a farm and have a ton of rescued animals: horses, dogs, cats, pigs, chickens,” Tobia said. “In particular, I’d like it to be a sanctuary or a kind of long-term rehab facility, where rescues or shelters could leave their animals in long-term foster with me if they needed to recover from a trauma.”

Through working with animals, Tobia has learned the main thing they need is someone who gives them attention, care, support and love.

“They know we are their family. I feel like it’s the ultimate in advocating for an animal,” Tobia said. “Just by saying, ‘I’m going to take care of you, and it’s going to be OK.’”