Woman spends decades rescuing homeless animals at shelter she helped build
By Emily Brown
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TOMAH, Wisconsin (WKBT) — Every weekend, Gina Mason arrives at Chasing Daylight Animal Shelter at 6 a.m. and doesn’t leave till about 6 p.m. On weekdays, she drives straight from her full-time job at Emplify Health by Gundersen to do it all over again.
“Normally every weekend I’m here for about 12 hours. I usually get here at six in the morning and start tending to the dogs,” she said.
Her commitment to animals’ traces back to childhood. Growing up, her mother welcomed every stray her daughter brought home.
“When I was a kid, my mom let me bring home every homeless critter in the world. She always greeted each of them with a warm and open heart. She never said no,” Mason said.
That upbringing shaped a lifelong dedication to animal welfare. Gina began volunteering at another shelter before her focus shifted to the animals in her own community.
“I used to volunteer at another shelter, and I really fell in love with the homeless animals there and felt a commitment to homeless animals in our area,” she said.
The idea for Chasing Daylight Animal Shelter took shape in 2001. Gina spent years fundraising and coordinating to turn the vision into reality. The shelter opened its doors in June 2011, and Gina has served as its president ever since.
“We opened our doors in June of 2011, and I’ve been here pretty much every day since then,” she said.
Fellow volunteer Mary Petersen has watched Gina’s impact on the animals firsthand.
“Seeing what she does with the animals and how she has with them — every animal here is treated like family before they go home,” Petersen said.
The shelter currently houses around 22 dogs and 50 cats and kittens. Gina says the operation depends on a strong network of volunteers to care for the animals and prepare them for adoption.
“There are so many moving parts here that one person couldn’t do on their own, and we are so fortunate to have an amazing group of volunteers,” she said.
One of Gina’s most significant recent efforts involved helping rescue 13 beagles from Ridglan Farms, a facility that used the dogs for animal testing. The facility has since closed.
“It actually was an honor and a privilege to be a part of that,” she said.
For Gina, the reward comes when she sees those beagles, and all of the other newly adopted furballs, thriving in their new homes.
“To see them in homes, to see them going on hikes with their people — we get videos of them snoring. They’re relaxing on the couch. Just being real dogs,” she said.
Gina encourages others to get involved and volunteer at the shelter, describing the experience as deeply fulfilling.
“Volunteering at an animal shelter is so rewarding. The animals are so grateful. Everything needs to be done — from cleaning up after the animals to teaching them to walk on leash — and just to be a good Samaritan and an ambassador for the animals. And seeing them go to their homes — that’s truly a blessing,” she said.
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