Me, In a Nutshell

Hi, I'm Sue Caro! I'm an actor, a vegan, a wildlife conservation activist, animal rights activist and a Leo. The people who know me best would say I'm a cross between Ace Ventura and Pocahontas. To say I love animals is an understatement. I've been involved with advocating and helping animals since the age of ten when I started sending all my babysitting money to the PETA. They had sent me some info on what animals endure during testing and experimentations along with a picture of a sad little bunny hooked up to an awful animal-testing device with it's raw flesh exposed. I wish I could have unseen that picture because that sad little bunny was identical to the two rabbits I had as a kid (Roger & Jessica). It broke my heart to learn of the needless suffering and cruelty that bunny and so many other animals in this world were victim to. That was not cool with this ten year old! Thus began my lifelong dedication to all things ANIMAL! 

"Animal lovers are a special breed of humans, generous of spirit, full of empathy, perhaps a little prone to sentimentality, and with hearts as big as a cloudless sky."

John Grogan, author of Marley & Me

Although I have much love for all furry, feathered and finned animals, I would say that lions, dogs, and elephants hold a special place in my heart. Apart from being a Leo, and The Lion King being one of my favorite Disney movies, being a lion was my first acting job. I was cast as the Cowardly Lion in my school play and I had to sing If I Were the King of the Forest in front of an audience of 500. I was very bashful as a kid so everyone said I was a great Cowardly Lion, but I still maintain that I was just in character. Because of this love, I traveled to South Africa to volunteer on a lion sanctuary a few years ago. I fell asleep every night to the roars of the big daddy Mufasa lions, and woke up early every morning to feed and play with the cubs. It was by far one of the coolest things I've ever done and I wish I could spend the rest of my life traveling the world and volunteering on wildlife sanctuaries.

When I was a little kid, I remember all I wanted in life was to have a dog. Unfortunately, the first 14 years of my life we lived in an apartment building that did not allow dogs. I remember dragging my parents to our local shelter so we could help out and walk the dogs, always stopping and petting EVERY dog I saw on the street, and making friends with the kids at school who had dogs at home so I could come over to play with them (the dogs more than the kids). Every birthday candle I blew out, every penny I threw into a fountain, every wish I made upon a star was for a dog. My dream finally came true when my parents bought a house and my favorite aunt and cousin from Peru brought me the cutest, caramel-colored cocker spaniel that we named Pooch. Over the years Pooch has saved us not once, but twice by alerting us of fires in our house in the middle of the night. Pooch is also the reason my family owns a business today. So many of our family and friends saw how much we loved Pooch and asked if we could take care of their dogs while they were on vacation because it made them feel better to know their dogs were in a loving home instead of being kenneled up at a veterinarian's office. It started off small, with our neighbor's German Shepard and a family friend's dachshund. Then the word spread and we had ten dogs at our house one summer! During that time, the company my father had been working for the past 20 years was being bought out and threats of lay offs worried him Off to the Internet I went to figure out how we could make our new "Pooch Paradise" a legitimate money making business. I found a dog day care and boarding franchise based out of Boulder, Colorado that offered franchisee opportunities called Camp Bow Wow. After lots of convincing that it was a fool proof idea, my dad and I got on a plane to Colorado to see what it was all about. Fast forward a few years later and Camp Bow Wow of Stamford, Connecticut opened it's doors to hundreds of wagging tails waiting to play all day while their parents were away! So every time I visit and get to play with dogs until my heart's content, I remember all those candles I blew out and pennies I threw into fountains that made my wish for a dog come true! 150 times over to be exact! (That's the maximum number of dogs we can have at one time. ) And what's even cooler, Camp Bow Wow even has it's own foundation called Bow Wow Buddies that promotes the health and welfare of animals worldwide. They promote humane education and treatment of animals, invest in research and treatment for animals affected by illness and disease and help find foster and lifetime homes for unwanted animals! 

The boys. Left to right: Rocky, who I rescued as a pup from a neglectful home.  Our first love, our Peruvian Pooch. And  Milo, who is now in doggy heaven who was the unwanted love child of two show dogs who had a love affair during a veterinarian's office visit. 

So, here I am today writing this blog (with Rocky fast asleep on my lap) and I couldn't be happier about where I am today. Last year I quit my "real job" in corporate America to pursue another love of mine - acting. While I'm still working on getting that Oscar, all the acting classes I've taken really made me more in touch with my true self and what is important to me. So much so that I even became vegan at the start of the new year. I initially intended to do it for about a month as a cleanse and a test of will power, but it's March now and I'm still going strong! I credit this lifestyle change completely to Alicia Silverstone and her book The Kind Diet. I have always loved her as an actress and have tremendous respect and admiration for her tireless work as an advocate for animals so I thought this was the perfect book to help me with my new vegan-ness. Every time I read it I feel like Cher Horowitz was telling me how "absolutely wretched" the meat and dairy industry were to animals and how it gave her an "overwhelming sense of ickyness" to have ever eaten animals. "As if!!" I've read the entire book a few times and I keep it in my kitchen for all the amazing recipes she shares. So much so that it is now covered it butternut squash and umeboshi plums (which I didn't even know about until this book) And I can honestly say that I've never felt so amazing. She also has an awesome website dedicated to all things kind to animals and the planet, called The Kind Life. Check it out, she really is an amazing human! Thanks Alicia!

This past October, my love for animals took me to San Francisco to the Wildlife Conservation Network's annual Wildlife Expo. I got to meet and hear some of the world's most dedicated wildlife conservationists speak about what they were doing to help the planet's imperiled wildlife, and more importantly, what we could do to help. I was lucky enough to get into Dr. Iain Douglas-Hamilton of Save the Elephants presentation on the state of emergency that African elephants are in due to the surge in poaching over the last few years. I also got to meet the authors of an amazing book that celebrates the world's leading conservationits and the animals they are commited to saving, Wildlife Heroes by Julie Scardina & Jeff Flocken. When I got the chance to speak with them and tell them how much I enjoyed their book, they asked me what my favorite part was and I blanked (or maybe I had one too many mimosas at breakfast, I can't really be sure) I wanted to tell them my favorite part was a section of the book titled, How to help: Working Together to Make a Difference. In this part of the book, they share things everyone can do to get involved. With an introduction by Jack Hanna, the whole book is truly inspiring and really makes you want to do something. So, here I am. I'm creating this blog in the hopes that you too will want to get involved. While this book and attending the Wildlife Expo are in part to thank, the dream of creating a platform where I can share information about all the foundations I support, people who inspire me, and causes I'm passionate about has really been brewing for quite some time. So much so that my very talented brother has helped me create a trailer for a prototype for a wildlife conservation television show! For all you networks and production companies out there, Keeping It Wild is looking for a good home and a pilot script and series bible is available upon request. 

So my dear friends, my hope, my wish, my dream is that you are inspired to do something for our animal friends. It's easy to say you are an animal lover, so now is the time to walk your talk. All animals, both domestic and wild need our voices to speak up for them. Take a minute to sign a petition against animal testing, start a rally to protest animals at the circus, volunteer at a wildlife sanctuary, foster a shelter dog, send some funds to help out an organization that's fighting the good fight against animal injustice, but please, do SOMETHING!

From the bottom of my heart, and from all the animals, thank you for taking the time to read, share, post and more importantly - act. May all your generosity and compassion come back to you a million times over.

Much Love,
Sue