LAP Team
Jen Chan
Jen has had dogs all her life and knew from a young age that she would one day run an animal charity. Having quit her full time job as an Account Director at an advertising agency in 2009, she now devotes her time and efforts to saving animals in need and caring for her own ever-growing pack of dogs.
Jen oversees the charity and the majority of its activities. She spends a lot of time rescuing and rehoming animals that would have otherwise been euthanised or abandoned.
One of Jen’s most rewarding experiences was rescuing two American Akitas that had been previously homed, but subsequently dumped by their new owner. The adopter had driven to the mountains and abandoned them without informing a soul. After 11 days of searching, both Akitas were saved, but spent the following two months in intensive rehabilitation before finding their loving forever homes.
Jen plays a big part in public awareness activities to promote animal welfare and works closely with the government and vets to help abandoned animals. She is bilingual speaking English and Cantonese fluently. She currently has 8 dogs including an Old English Sheepdog, two American Akitas and the love of her life: Jimmy (LAP’s mascot and active volunteer).
Sheila McClelland
Sheila McClelland, the founder of LAP, has been passionately committed to animal welfare since she stepped up to rescue her first dog, Boodhai, in 1991.
Shocked by the more than 25,000 abandoned dogs and cats killed by the Hong Kong Government each year, she decided to act. The result was LAP, first as Lamma Animal Protection, now broadened across Hong Kong into Lifelong Animal Protection, but still very much with animal protection at its core.
Firmly of the belief that as soon as an animal shelter is opened it's full, Sheila instead established an effective network of short-term volunteer foster homes to care for rescued abandoned animals until their adopters and lifelong home can be found. Of course there is never enough space, so some animals of various species inevitably end up at Sheila's home on Lamma, where her husband John never knows exactly who will welcome him home each day.
Now there are two successful adoption centres, physical points for adopters, volunteers, fosters and the animals to meet
Sheila, together with LAP's dedicated band of supporters, volunteers and foster carers strive to re-home animals, educate children and adults and support Government measures to promote desexing, outlaw unscrupulous breeders, and tighten animal cruelty laws.
Sheila's job will only be finished when LAP is no longer needed in Hong Kong.
Minnie Leung
My name is Minnie, I am an online business shop owner also with a full time job. I have always been passionate about animals since I was a little girl; hence, once I have started my business, I wanted to contribute a little in animal charity organizations. I have done some research before volunteering for LAP, LAP is an organization fully operates by volunteers (to be specific, 3 core volunteers back then in 2012, that's when I started) and with fosters, learning that fact only makes me want to be more involved with animal rescue. Thus, I reached out to them, not to mention, LAP did not ask me to make any monetary contribution when I wanted to come in as a corporation, instead, they welcomed me with open arms to be part of LAP team and be the foster coordinator, that is how I started my animal rescue journey. In the past years, I have learnt so much about how animals are being treated and where pet shops animals come from, all these information make me want to do more for the animals, to spread the concept of adoption and it is now my mission to make people understand why adoption should be the only option. Being a volunteer for LAP opens up my eyes in this animal cruelty world, being a volunteer to help rescuing is just the very minimal that I could do, knowing that I am influencing people who surround me makes me happy. I am proud of LAP team, rescuing so many animals with limited resources, and we as a team are making the world a better place, one step at a time.
Nat Chiu
You can call Nat a ‘natural’ when it comes to her love for animals. After having her first dog at age 5, she hasn't stopped raising and adopting animals since.
During her years of moving around, she has been involved with animal related organisations around the world including charities in Canada, Thailand and Hong Kong.
Nat is now a core member of LAP’s growing team and hopes to use her marketing skills to help promote the charity focusing on events, fundraising and digital marketing. An increasing number of people in Hong Kong are opening up to adoption rather than purchasing from pet shops or breeders, and she believes this pattern will only keep growing!
Salina Yip
Volunteer Coordinator
Yvonne Hung
LAP-Adopted Animal Liaison