One young animal advocate is a best friend to animals in need

by Natascha Bruckner

Mariah Mountanos would have an impressive resume. She has exhibited her photographs, started a web site, won an award from the American Humane Association, and helped save the lives of dozens of dogs and cats. But she doesn’t have a resume. She’s only 14.

Mariah’s calm and self-confident demeanor, strong handshake, and levelheaded outlook reveal a person who is mature beyond her years. You are in good hands when Mariah shows you around the Mendocino County Animal Care and Control shelter in Ukiah, where she volunteers. She is clearly at home there and gives a comprehensive tour, introducing almost all of the dogs and cats by name. Not only has she named a lot of them herself, but she has also befriended, trained, and photographed them. And she has built a website dedicated to _ nding each of them the perfect home.

How did a 14-year-old girl become such a seasoned animal advocate? Like many children, Mariah, an only child, developed a love for dogs when her family got a puppy. At age six, she bonded with Lucky, a German Shepherd, and later with their second dog, a Jack Russell “terrorist.” The family has since added two cats to the household. When Mariah’s home-school teacher, Sage Mountainfire, adopted an energetic Lab puppy and began volunteering at the Humane Society, she introduced Mariah to her newfound interests. The two have been a dynamic dog-saving duo ever since.

“I wanted Mariah to have a passion that would make a difference in the world,” Sage explains. As a home-school teacher, she had freedom and flexibility to adapt the curriculum to her student. When Mariah showed a love of dogs and a knack for photography, “it felt like a match in the making.” Mariah says, “I started taking pictures of the dogs, and I loved it. It’s so much fun capturing their personalities, their smiles when they look at the camera.”

A few years ago, Mariah and Sage moved on to the Mendocino County shelter, which, according to shelter supervisor Galen Fife, has adopted a no-kill policy within the last six months. Before that, for Mariah, the task of finding homes felt like a more urgent one. She says it has been difficult for her when dogs are put down, but her sadness is outweighed by the satisfaction of finding good homes for other dogs. “When a dog’s been at the shelter a long time and you’ve bonded with him or her, it’s really special when they get adopted. You see them walk out the door and jump into the car. You feel like you’ve saved a life.”

Mariah, who lauds her parents’ unconditional support and Sage’s mentoring, has dedicated herself to saving as many dogs as she can. She started by hanging flyers around town. Then she fell in love with a Border Collie mix named Cooper, posted information about him on craigslist.com and petfinder.com, and found him a home. This motivated Mariah to start her own web site. With help from a computer teacher, she taught herself web design and created www.pawstoadopt.com for the Mendocino shelter. Reflecting Mariah’s personality, the site is both colorful and practical. Her captivating photos (the dogs really are smiling) border every page, and her story and training tips serve as valuable resources for dog owners. Galen believes that Mariah’s work in “connecting us to the Internet has increased our ability to find homes for cats and dogs immensely.”

The web site highlights another of Mariah’s favorite causes: pit bulls. Pit bull owners’ responsibilities may be different, but the dogs’ sweetness makes up for the extra work. Mariah says, “A lot of our pit bulls stay adopted, more than other dogs, I think, because we work with them a lot.” Plus, “Pit bulls are so sweet. You fall in love with their wiggly, big-head personalities.”

Pure magic

Mariah remembers a special pit bull mix named Racer, who started growling at men after living in the kennel for two weeks. “People were scared of him because of his kennel presentation, but when he was out, he was sweet as can be.” She convinced the shelter staff to give her more time to find Racer a home. Meanwhile, Giovanna Flaggs of Sacramento saw the web site, contacted Mariah, and drove to Ukiah. “The rest was pure magic,” says Giovanna. The adoption was an emotional one for her: “Shortly before coming across Racer I had experienced a miscarriage. When we met him, my mom got all teary and said, ‘He is the baby we’ve been waiting for.’ Now I hold his head in my hands and tell him, ‘I didn’t know you were gonna be a dog.’ He just smiles. “Saving his life after my loss healed my soul like nothing else could,” Giovanna said. The universe seems to agree: “The name we had picked out for our baby, if she was a girl, was Mariah.”

The toughest cases

Mariah is drawn to the toughest cases, especially “youngsters” and “dogs that are out of control.” Lately, her most challenging project is Youwho, a two-year-old heeler/pit bull mix who is blind and deaf. During Youwho’s first weeks at the shelter, the staff and volunteers couldn’t get his attention. Their “yoo-hoo’s” inspired Mariah to give him his name, and his exuberant personality made him irresistible; she took him in as a foster dog and now he is one of the family’s pets. Because of Youwho, she has added a new page to her site: “A Resource Guide for Owners of Blind and Deaf Dogs.”  What does Mariah envision for her future? “My goal is to open up my own rescue center,” she says. “Hopefully photography and computer work can help support me.” But first there’s high school. Along with her education, she plans to continue volunteering at the shelter. That way she’ll stay in close contact with Sage, recently hired as a shelter adoption counselor. And then there are the dogs. “Where I’m at is what I love,” she says of the shelter. “I’d rather be here than anywhere else.”