Krissey Vlantes - President
A co-founder of Houston Chow Chow Connection, Krissey has owned chows all of her life. Krissey's current chows Lady, Bo, Kasey, & Elsa are brand ambassadors for Houston Chow Chow Connection, and often make appearances at our local events. Krissey is excited for the continued growth of the rescue as the foster, volunteer and adopter network continues to expand.
Yana Carter - Treasurer
Yana grew up in Kazakhstan where chows were not a common breed at all. However, one of her neighbors had two, so Yana had always been fascinated with the breed. After moving to Houston in 2016 and getting married, Yana and her husband decided to expand their new family by adopting a dog. HCCC was hosting an event at the Petrol Station bar, and Yana and her husband happened to be there for lunch. They met Denise at that event, met a couple of HCCC alumni pups, and about a month later adopted their first dog, Mishka. Yana had always been passionate about animals of all breeds, but chows now hold a very special place in her heart because of Mishka.
Kelly Hood - Secretary
Kelly is from Lincoln, NE and grew up with a love of animals. She arrived in Texas in 2000. Shortly after, she received a blessing named Bear Bear. He was Kelly’s constant companion for 14 years. He crossed over the rainbow bridge in March 2014. He is the reason she came to love the Chow Chow breed. 2 Months later another blessing arrived, a little Shepard Chow mix. Kelly recently became a lifesaving foster for HCCC and decided to volunteer her time to our organization. Kelly is a special Foster Mom, She takes in Seniors and Chows that don’t have too much time left.
Janet Vrasic - Business Strategy & Marketing
Janet grew up in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago, and rescued her first dog, a chow mix puppy in 1997. Cinnamon became the first and original Spice Girl. Pepper, a husky mix and only non-chow, was rescued from West Virginia, then Ginger (New York), Nutmeg (Alabama via New York), and Mocha (Illinois). In 2016, she moved to Houston, where Yoshi and Pumpkin joined the family, both adopted from HCCC. Excited to utilize her business strategy and operational expertise, Janet joined the board in 2017 to assist the group with sustainable growth and operational best practices.
Jill Mason - Event Coordinator
Growing up in Maryland, Retrievers, Spaniels and Setters were the common dogs but Jill only had eyes for the Chow Chow. After adopting her first chow mix Cheska from a shelter, she was impressed by his transformation - as he learned to relax and trust - he blossomed, winning the hearts of the people he met. Jill decided to only adopt from shelters and rescues focusing on older chows ages 5-8. After settling in Houston and adopting 2 chows from HCCC – getting involved was the next logical step. Jill feels that she has become a better person by sharing her journey through life with all of her Chow companions: Cheska, Darla, Shane, Roca, Charlie and Macy. She is excited about helping rescue chows become Ambassadors of the Breed.
Barbara Keith - Volunteer / Foster Coordinator
Barbara was born and raised in Houston, Texas. She rescued her first dog a chow Akita puppy mix, Bella and fell in love with the breed. Her second rescue dog, Jake became Bella's best friend. Both dogs crossed the rainbow bridge within months of each other. A shy small scared dog came to her rescue, named Minnie. She became a foster failure not once, twice, but three times a charm. She is mom to Minnie, Baker, and Nikki from HCCC. She is also a mom of two school age children who love their dogs. She loves working with new volunteers.