Meet The CCF Crew
Jacqueline Piñol – Founder
I am Jacqueline Piñol. I was born in Queens, New York but grew up in Los Angeles, California. I am a first-generation American, with parents who emigrated from Latin America, so my first language was Spanish. I was the first in my family to go to college and I graduated from Loyola Marymount University.
Volunteering for non-profit dog rescue organizations was a hobby that turned into a passion of mine when my husband Jonny and I adopted a dog named Dublin together—she is a female Great Dane/Staffordshire or “pit bull” type dog mix. Seeing how many dogs were left behind when we picked her up from a city shelter was heartbreaking. Scared, nervous and sometimes injured, these dogs lay on cold concrete floors and behind bars waiting for a chance to get noticed. This alarming scenario is very prevalent in United States animal shelters. We decided to travel around the country to capture on film what the canine condition looks like and to shine a light on those who are actively taking steps to end dog homelessness, abuse and neglect of (hu)man’s best friend. Jonny and I produced and released 14 episodes of a docu-series titled “The Canine Condition”.
What I learned from our documentary journey over the course of the last 8 years is that spaying and neutering our canine companions is the solution to lowering the overpopulation of homeless and abandoned dogs in this country. In an attempt to curb this crisis, I decided to start my own non-profit foundation. We will focus on spaying and neutering family pets and update basic vetting as the next chapter in our advocacy and devotion to animal welfare.
In my professional life, I work as an actor both on camera and in voiceovers. There is never a dull moment as an artist but when there is downtime, I use it to focus on learning more life skills and spending time with my family, which of course includes our 5 pack of rescued dogs.
Jayme Strasburger- Secretary
My name is Jayme Strasburger. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a dog lover. I learned at an early age the joy a dog brings into your life. I am a passionate nurse practitioner, wife, and mother of two-step children and three canine girls, Grace, Stella, and Sam.
My husband and I love attending live music events, hitting the hiking trails with the kids and fur babies, and exploring locations around the globe. It is through my personal experience adopting and fostering dogs that I realized the importance of rescue and advocacy for animals in my community and nationwide. Helping the pet population with proper resources and support is a labor of love. I believe that knowledge is power and I work tirelessly to help share what my family and I have learned through my volunteer work.
Justina Hill – Treasurer
My name is Justina Hill. Born and raised a Jersey girl, I am a full-time mom, full-time Project Manager, and full-time dog lover! My husband and I rescued our first dog, Monti, 9 years ago, and it truly changed my life. I couldn’t believe what an amazing dog we had adopted. He is sweet, funny, loyal, playful, and a real mama’s boy! I fell so in love with him which got me thinking about the millions of other dogs, that are just as amazing as he is, that didn’t get as lucky as to find themselves with the right humans and have a forever home. Monti led me to an entirely new world of dog and animal rescue. I want to help in any way can. I’ve been volunteering for multiple non-profit rescue organizations for almost 9 years now and am so excited to be part of The Canine Condition Foundation team!
Alicia Ziegler – Board Member
Hi, my name is Alicia Ziegler. I’m an actress, nutritionist, and lifelong animal welfare advocate. To say I’m an “animal person” would be an understatement as I have spent most of my life supporting the voiceless in one of the most compassionate and ethical ways I can think of—as a Vegan.
Over the last three decades, I have rescued, adopted, and housed some of the greatest additions to my life. From cats to dogs, to guinea pigs and horses and everything in between, I have acquired a state of happiness like no other from being a pet parent. I am pictured here with my senior babies Pixie White and Motley Brown.
I believe animals deserve the same love and protection they so selflessly provide us humans. There is no doubt in my mind that a team of devoted individuals with diligent efforts can be anything less than a mega force for positive change. Gandhi was right, “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” So, here’s to educating and empowering individuals to care for the world they live in by beginning in their own backyard.
Chuck Warzyn – Board Member
The only time in my life I wasn’t around dogs was when I was in the Navy. Admirals don’t like dogs on ships. When I was growing up, my family always had dogs. Throughout the years, I’ve been guardian to a total of several dozen dogs. Whether in the Northeast, the Midwest, the West Coast or here in the Southeast, dogs have been an important part of my life. To me, a home without a dog is just a house. For the past 42 years of my seven decades in this world, I’ve volunteered with various animal shelters, humane societies, transport groups and rescue organizations. The hundred-plus dogs I’ve fostered have included elderly and special needs.
The bad news is, finding homes for homeless dogs is not the answer to reducing the number of homeless dogs that need homes. We cannot adopt our way out of the problem of dog overpopulation. The only way we can do that is by reducing the total numbers — by widespread spaying & neutering.
That means helping the general populace realize they have a responsibility to spay & neuter their dogs. It means convincing local and state officials they have a responsibility to pass mandatory spay & neuter ordinances. It means organizing and supporting voluntary spay & neuter programs. It means helping people understand that this species known as “man’s best friend” has emotions and can feel mental and physical pain, just as we humans do.When I think of the huge difference the Canine Condition Foundation can make to improve the canine condition, I’m humbled and honored to be a part of the effort.
Janine Hosh – Board Member
My name is Janine Hosh. I am a lifelong dog and animal lover and advocate. Together with my son James and my husband Andy, we have called many dogs, cats and parakeets our babies. We live in New Jersey with our dogs Nash and Peaches.
Aside from my full time job in the field of marketing and accounting, I have volunteered my time with non-profit organizations doing a variety of admin tasks such as handling social media and animal adoption processes and driving local transports for rescued dogs. I sat on the event’s committee and organized a student club companion program for Hightstown Animal Welfare Committee whose focus was Feline TNR.
I find all the volunteer work I do in this field very fulfilling. In addition to being a small piece of the puzzle in making fur babies lives’ better, I enjoy sharing tips and tricks with friends and neighbors about how to be a successful pet parent. I am blessed to have made wonderful friends through these experiences.
In addition to advocacy for our four-legged friends, we are novice backyard beekeepers to Help Save The Bees!
Darlene Nobles – Board Member
My name is Darlene Nobles. I am a mom to humans, canines and a feline and a grandmother to 2 beautiful grandchildren. My doormat reads – “It’s basically a zoo here!”
I’m from the heart of the South in a rural area of GA – home of great food, amazing hospitality…and a horrific overpopulation of homeless dogs! My county is one of many with no animal control, no rescue opportunities and no spay/neuter laws. I fostered my first dog 10 years ago and since then, we have fostered several hundred dogs for multiple rescues. It’s an indescribable feeling to see these once broken spirits transform under your care and continue to flourish with their forever families. But hard as we may try, we can’t save them all unless measures are taken to slow down the population growth! I’m so very excited to be a part of not only The Canine Condition DOGumentary Series & Podcast but now also The Canine Condition Foundation!! I can’t wait to see the difference we can make in the lives of many precious furkids!!
Jonny Blu – Board Member
My name is Jonny Blu. I am a music producer and songwriter. I jumped on board the Canine Condition journey when my lovely lady Jacqui Piñol and I decided to film a documentary series to bring light to dog rescue and adoption around the United States back in 2015. Now that we have finished that project we wanted to find a way to give back and continue collaborating with the many organizations and people we met on our 8 year docu-series journey. I didn’t grow up with dogs but have always loved animals and being surrounded by a large canine pack brings a lot of adventure to our lives. Our young son gets to grow up knowing the love and companionship of our canine crew and he too enjoys learning how to care for them and spread the word about dog adoption. I look forward to the positive difference we can make as a foundation for many families and dogs around the country.