Most people know me because of rescue — not travel, not business, not any fancy title — but because of dogs. Because of Buckeye Bulldog Rescue. Because of the messy, heartbreaking, beautiful work we do to save the ones who can’t save themselves.

And in late 2019, that work took me farther than I ever expected to go.

I didn’t go to China for sightseeing.
I didn’t go for food or culture or a bucket-list moment.
I went for purpose — long before “Purposeful Travel Co.” was even a thought in my mind.

✈️ Coordinating Flights for 9 Volunteers — Over Christmas — Was the Warm-Up

The rescue operation started with logistics that only someone who loves chaos, animals, or both would take on:

Get myself and eight volunteers to China, all on different dates, starting on Christmas Eve 2019.

Every single volunteer brought back 4–5 dogs at a time, the maximum allowed per flight.
That’s 40+ dogs total, crossing the world with us.

Imagine the travel planning:

• Nine different itineraries

• Multiple airports

• Holiday travel

• Visa timing

• Volunteer schedules

• Airline rules for animal transport

• And emotional stakes higher than anything I’d ever handled

It was the kind of project that changes you — even before you step on a plane.

🌏 On the Ground in China

Between airport runs, paperwork, health checks, transport coordination, and trying to keep exhausted volunteers alive with caffeine and stubbornness, I got quick flashes of cities I never expected to see:

Beijing — massive, buzzing, alive

Shanghai — futuristic and dazzling

Suzhou — quiet, peaceful, unexpectedly grounding

No real sightseeing.
Just moments.
But they changed me.

🐕 The Rescue Work That No One Sees

When the pups arrived and they were being looked over, one of the vets said something about “this new coronavirus happening over there,” and I remember staring at her like she was speaking a different language.

I had no idea what she meant.

I did what any normal human in a foreign country who’s responsible for 40 dogs would do:

I Googled it.

At the time, reports said it was “confined to a seafood and meat market” in Wuhan China – far away from where we would be heading.  It felt irrelevant being so far away.

If only we knew.

🦠 Coming Home Sick — And No One Believing Me

When I got back to the U.S., I was sicker than a dog (irony noted).

I went to my doctor and said,
“I think I might have coronavirus from China.”

She looked at me like I had three heads.
Googled it.
Called the CDC.

The CDC told her:
“There’s nothing we can do. Just go home and try not to venture out.”

Two months later, the world shut down.

I don’t claim to be patient zero…
but I do joke that several of us may have been early editions.
That’s a story for another day.

❤️ The Purpose Behind It All

People ask why I do what I do.
Why rescue?
Why international transport?
Why travel across the world when it would’ve been easier to stay home?

The answer is simple:

Purpose.

That trip to China was the most literal definition of purposeful travel:
Travel that mattered.
Travel that made a difference.
Travel that changed lives — theirs and mine.
Travel that taught me that the world is bigger, harder, softer, and more beautiful than we think.

So when I eventually named my travel business Purposeful Travel Co., it wasn’t about vacations.
It wasn’t about luxury.
It wasn’t about pretty pictures or perfect itineraries.

It was about honoring the idea that travel can hold meaning.
Connection.
Impact.
Transformation.
Even healing.

That trip didn’t just give 40 dogs a new life.
It gave me a new one, too.

🌿 What I Bring Forward From That Journey

I came home with:

• A deeper understanding of humanity

• A whole new relationship with courage

• Evidence that purpose is worth chasing

• And a reminder that travel can break you open in the best possible way

Today, I carry that experience into everything else I do.
Not because it was pretty — it wasn’t.
But because it was real.
And meaningful.
And purposeful.

It’s the heartbeat behind Purposeful Travel Co.
And the reason I believe every journey — whether it’s across the world or across a state line — can change you.