Volunteer Spotlight: Lee Betancourt 

By: Renée Orcione

​Our volunteers are our most valuable resource when it comes to keeping City Dogs Rescue up and running! Their hard work and dedication mean so much to us and we want to say THANK YOU in any way we can. We hope to give you a look into the heart of our organization through our Volunteer Spotlights Series.

Our first Volunteer Spotlight will feature Lee Betancourt from McLean Virginia, our applications supervisor and adoption/foster applications counselor. Lee is also the coordinator for the monthly adoption event at Dogma Bakery in Shirlington. 

Lee first got involved with City Dogs Rescue by fostering-to-adopt Hudson, now Grover, in August 2014. She was impressed by the adoption process and the dedication of our volunteers, and wanted to stay involved with the organization. She started out volunteering at the Dogma events, and her involvement and dedication has continued to grow from there!

When asked what her favorite memories have been of her time thus far with us, Lee said, “I love being at the adoption events when a person or family meets the dog that is ‘the one’ for them. It’s happened a few times at Dogma and it’s great to see the connection they make and know the dog is headed to a happy home.” Initially, Lee was surprised to find out how bad the situation is for dogs at many rural shelters, especially outside of DC from where we pull many of our adoptable dogs.

Outside of her work with CDR, Lee enjoys spending time with her husband and two dogs. Her family enjoys fun, dog-friendly activities, like local hikes, trips to vineyards, or just heading to the dog park! Lee is also training for the Marine Corps Marathon and has been working out at a “boot camp” each weekday morning. Go Lee!

If Lee could be a dog for a day, she said she would be a Jack Russell Terrier – small but mighty! “Both of my dogs are Jack Russell mixes and they have a lot of zest for life. They’re active and high energy but then like to relax – sounds like a great day to me!”

Something you may not know about Lee is that when she was in seventh grade she won an essay contest through her local TV station and was featured in a video introducing the new giant pandas at the National Zoo. Who would have thought we’d have a local celebrity volunteering for CDR!
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And to close out our spotlight, the best advice Lee has received as it relates to dog rescue, is that, “no one can do everything, but everyone can do something.” We want Lee to know that all the work she does means everything to us! Thanks so much for your hard work and dedication!