Pam Gaber, Gabriel’s Angels

Zee Peters, Nominator

“It’s so pure and simple. It’s about developing trust with little children who are exposed to violence. Then they can begin the healing process.”

Pam was burned out and tired from non-stop travel so she quit her job, adopted a Weinaraner, named him Gabriel and began volunteering at Crisis Nursery. One Christmas she dressed him up as Rudolph and took him to their Christmas party. When she saw how the children responded, an idea began to form that was to become Gabriel’s Angel’s, a pet therapy program for abused children. That was seven years ago, and today the program that pairs pet teams and mistreated children is thriving. The goal is to teach the benefits of kindness and empathy rather than violence. Gabriel’s Angels now raises almost $750,000 a year and, more than 115 volunteer pet therapy teams visit an estimated 80 facilities in Phoenix and Tucson.