Living the compassion by changing lives, four paws at a time.
At Forefront Dermatology, compassion is at the center of everything we do. We bring empathy to the care of each individual who comes to see us, and passion for helping others is a shared trait among our entire staff. Take Joe Swetich, for example. Joe Swetich is our human resources manager. In that pivotal role, Joe is directly involved in all aspects of our personnel, from hiring and benefits to helping develop our staff into the highly capable professionals your care demands. At the same time, Joe’s compassion and desire to positively affect lives extends beyond our offices and his role here. That’s because Joe dedicates much of his free time to saving, caring for and finding homes for dogs. A founding member of N.E.W. PAWSibilities in Oshkosh, Joe donates his time to this self-sustaining rescue group after hours and on weekends. In 2011, he and three friends wanted to start a dog-rescue organization that was different from the other groups out there. “We wanted to focus our energies on the dogs,” says Joe, whose work for the group is voluntary. “We wanted to be self-sustaining, and we didn’t want to engage in fundraising every weekend.” Two and a half years later, the undertaking has proved to be a success. N.E.W. PAWSibilities is self-sustaining, thanks to income from doggy-daycare, boarding, grooming services, pet supplies and accessories. In addition, Joe and his colleagues were also successful in their desire to run a different kind of dog rescue. “It’s not ‘doggie jail,’” he says. “All the dogs are in a group setting, out playing all day long, and they have free rein to come and go inside or out. There is a lot of socialization… between the dogs themselves and between the dogs and our volunteers.” At any given time, N.E.W. PAWSibilities has some 40 to 45 dogs, which mainly come either from owners who can no longer keep their dogs, or from “high-kill” shelters out of state. The group is also successful in being able to find dogs new homes quickly, with most dogs sticking around for just 2 to 3 weeks. They find homes for dogs through their own website (www.NewPawsibilities.com), their Facebook page and their page on PetFinder.com. “When you see people coming back a year or so down the road with their adopted dog, it’s very exciting and rewarding,” says Joe. “The dogs are healthy and happy, and the families are happy. You really see the love, and that’s all you need.”
