My name is Angelica Gonzalez-Eskel and my passion in life has always been animals, particularly cats. Growing up in my native Chile, South America, I would frequently feed stray cats and bring them home, which did not make my mom very happy. Life led me on a different path, though. I became a teacher of English, got married and raised two beautiful children. Today, I'm the proud mom of an architect (my son) and a PhD. in Education (my daughter).
After getting my first degree as a techer and waiting for my kids to be older, I went back to school and got my second degree as interpreter/translator in English/Spanish/French. And that is what I have been doing for the last 21 years. But I always had a dream that someday I would find a way to pursue my real passion: work with animals and/or help those who don't have a home to call their own.
I met Bill, my second husband, in Chile 14 years ago. We got married and I relocated to the US in 1998, in the state of New Hampshire. I was having two successful careers as a private tutor and as a free lance interpreter; however, something was still missing and I knew deep in my heart I wanted to work with animals, specifically homeless cats, those who don’t have a family or a place to call their own and die in shelters everyday. I became a volunteer of the Manchester Animal Shelter in Manchester, New Hampshire. It has been one of the most rewarding experiences in my whole life! Not only did I learn about love, care and compassion but I also learned about abuse, neglect and indifference for the life of an animal. I learned that when somebody is determined to get rid of an animal –no matter how- they will not hesitate to put a couple of cats inside a cardboard box, tape it and dump it by the door at the shelter in a freezing 5-degree winter night. I also met some amazing people there, who taught me a lot: thank you, Journey Ewell, Ed Kramer, Kim Lutes, I will be forever grateful for that.
I volunteered at FMAS for almost five years, I joined the Meds Team and I worked with the Special Needs cats -aggressive, feral and others- and, at some point, I decided to go back to college and take courses on Small Animal Care to help those kitties better. Thus, I enrolled in the 1-year program at the University of New Hampshire, got my Pet Grooming Diploma and took some additional courses, which were part of the Associate Degree in Animal Science. I felt, then, that I was ready to make a change in my career and my life.
In the meantime, my husband and I started a big feline family and we are now proudly owned by seven great companions, six of them rescues from FMAS in NH and the last one a rescue from Albuquerque!
Finally, tired of the cold, the snow and the ice of the Northeast, we moved to New Mexico in 2008. I decided to "officially" leave my two careers and devote all my energy and TLC to take care of people’s feline companions. That is why my commitment comes from my heart: my seven felines mean the world to me and I know how much theirs mean to my clients.
I am well equipped to handle different needs as far as age, size, breed, temperament and personalities. These are some of my qualifications:
- Member of Pet Sitters International
- Red Cross certified in Pet First Aid
- 1st and 2nd Degree Reiki Practitioner
- Grooming Diploma from University of New Hampshire
- Courses on Small Animal Care at UNH
- 5 years of experience at Manchester Animal Shelter, Manchester, NH.
- Licensed, Insured and Bonded.
I am also a member/sponsor of: Best Friends Animal Society, ASPCA, HSUS, Animal Legal Defense Fund and IVIS (International Veterinary Information Service), among others.