The TLC Team
Melissa De Decker
Founder/President
I founded Taffy's Legacy in 2015 when the previous rescue I had been involved with closed their doors. I had lost my soulmate dog Taffy in January of that year and it only seemed fitting to found a rescue in her name. My role, like most of the team member's roles, fluctuates depending on the needs of the rescue. That can be anything from dog intakes and evaluations, reference checks, picking up donations to overseeing adoptions.
I might be the definition of a crazy dog lady. I've had over 500 dogs come through my house in the last 14 years. When I am not volunteering with the rescue, almost all of my hobbies involve dogs. You can find me hanging out with my American Bulldogs whom I do various sports with and show in conformation. Alternatively, you may find me working in my dog boarding, training or daycare facility or tending to my training client's needs online at Training Dogs Online. I do have a handful of hobbies outside of the dog world and those include cooking, photography, camping and traveling. I also recently became a mom to a beautiful baby girl!
I dream of a day that dog rescues are not necessary. I became a dog trainer because I saw so many owners trying their best, but inevitably failing their dog and having to give them up because they did not have the resources to live a mutually beneficial life. The problems they were having all boiled down to training, so I started attending seminars and researching everything there was to know about training. My goal was to help people help their dogs, before they had to give them up. In an ideal world there will come a day that rescue will be essentially obsolete because we will have resources in place that promote responsible pet ownership.
Megg Williams
Foster Coordinator
I first asked my parents for a dog when I was 3 years old. Unfortunately, my parents were not dog people, so that never happened! Fortunately, I found my (now) Spouse in my 20s who had a wonderful 5 yo N.A.I.D, Echo, who I fell in love with due to his amazing temperament! After owning a house, I wanted to be able to finally pick a dog of my own to become a part of our pack. At the time I did not want a puppy, which lead me down the path to finding my sweet Mexican fiesta mix, Zurrie (formerly Mami), that was being fostered in Toronto. We loved being able to provide a safe and loving home to a dog that had lived over 4 years on the streets of Mexico and was caught with her 2nd litter.
After owning Zurrie for just over a year, we took the plunge and applied to foster with the same Toronto based organization. We fostered 3 dogs, and babysat 10 other dogs for other fosters in just one year! During this time I was learning A LOT about dog psychology, training tools, and the importance of Recue Organizations. I ended up finding TLC along the way and loved their ethics, training style and passion for helping local dogs! They were closer to home, and the Core Team was always so amazing to talk to so we made the switch, and started to foster with TLC.
After 4 years full of many dogs coming through our home, I wanted to take the step into the Core Team at Taffy's to support Fosters the way I was always supported. I am very passionate about dog psychology and providing dogs with another change to find their furever home.
Favourite Foster Dog?
Ray
Number of Foster?
9
Least Favourite Behaviour?
Barking, People Aggression
Favourite Thing to Teach?
Nervous/Timid dogs how to be social!
Sabrina Da Cruz
Marketing Coordinator
In 2019 I was living with my roommates and we desperately wanted a little four legged friend in the house! Couple issues though... none of us were ready to commit to a dog long time and some of us had NO dog experience (like me). So, we put in a foster application with Taffy's and then got our first foster, Octaiva. Taffy's did such a good job with matching our house's experience and needs with her and that's when we feel in love with it! I am responsible for Events, Fundraising and Marketing.
The whole taffy's team is always there for support when needed and truly cares about educating their foster homes. I came in with no experience and in the last two years I have gained so much confidence in my dog knowledge and continue to learn more and more. In fact, I started with understanding that I wasn't ready for a dog yet, to foster failing my pup Charlie who is the perfect fit for my home!
When I am not doing rescue things I am working towards becoming a teacher! I have worked the past two years with children with Autism and now I am in school getting my Bachelors of Education to teach grade kindergarten to grade 6! Outside of working and being a student I love to go on adventures with my dog Charlie, play boardgames, binge watch a few shows and hang out with friends!
Fun Facts:
Favourite Foster Dog?
Russel
Number of Fosters?
6
Least Favourite Behaviour?
Super vocal dogs
Favourite Thing to Teach?
"which cup?" or hide and seek!
Jenna Thomas
Engagement Coordinator
Growing up, I had always wanted to adopt a rescue dog; so when I got my first apartment I started researching right away. I found Taffy's and reached out, their volunteers were informative, genuine and very passionate. I decided I was ready to adopt and in November 2021 I was blessed with the best dog ever, Cowboy (formerly Creston). I had such a great experience that I decided to become a volunteer myself and help other dogs find a home like Taffy's was able to do for my pup! Over the past while I have learned so much about building trust and confidence in your dog, training techniques and tools, how to advocate for your dog and the importance of consistancy.
In rescue I focus on community engagement through social media, events and video content. I love creating tiktoks with the dogs videos and getting these amazing pups seen. In my free time I do a number things from hiking and poetry, to film photography and digital art.
Fun Facts:
I have had a lifelong dream of owning a senior dog sanctuary!
Least Favourite Behaviour?
Excessive barking
Favourite Thing to Teach?
Recall! Watching the progress is so rewarding.
Tyson Campbell
Fundraising Coordinator and Adoption Support
I first became aware of Taffy's after having brought my dogs to daycare at Delhi Dogs Paw. My husband and I had just adopted out first rescue (through another rescue) and we were having pretty severe problems between him, our other pup, and ourselves. Through online training we were able to solve alot of our problems and it's something we continue to do on a regular basis. I first became involved with Taffy's specifically by doing reference checks and was lucky enough to become more involved in fundraising and adoption support when a spot on the core team opened up.
Fun Facts:
Least Favourite Behaviour?
Excessive barking.
Favourite Thing to Teach?
How to get over resource guarding.