Denise FleckInterim Executive Director
Denise Fleck was raised by a Great Dane and has spent her life loving animals. As a dog mom to thirteen amazing canines, she feels there is no greater love than can be found in the adoring eyes of a senior dog. Known as the Pet Safety Crusader™, Fleck has authored fifteen books, written hundreds of articles for pet publications and is the proud recipient of four Maxwell Medallions from the Dog Writers’ Association, including “Best Children’s Book.” A former movie studio publicist, Fleck followed her heart by wanting to do something that could make a difference, so she trained, practiced, studied, trained, and practiced some more and developed her own Pet First-Aid & CPR curriculum as well as a five-month-long animal-care course for high school students. She has personally instructed more than 31,000 pet parents, professional pet sitters, obedience trainers, groomers, and daycare providers, and has reached millions more through her television appearances, including CBS–TV’s The Doctors, Animal Planet and CNN. She now focuses on training the next generation of animal care instructors.
Named "A Woman of Influence" by Pet Age Magazine and a twice-finalist at "Pet Industry's Woman of the Year," Fleck's soft-spot lies with senior dogs, so she has been over-joyed to be the Board President of The Grey Muzzle Organization since 2018. She also serves on the board of the Emma Zen Foundation, which supplies pet oxygen masks to first responders. Denise attended the University of Southern California’s (USC) Film School, received her teaching certificate from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and has taken Basic & Advanced Life-Saving/Pet CPR through Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.
After 30 years in Los Angeles, Fleck now resides outside Atlanta with her husband Paul and senior rescued Akita, Wishy, who was adopted at age 10 from the Big East Akita Rescue in New Jersey. Learn more at www.PetSafetyCrusader.com
