Meet Lantz, our Executive Director. Lantz joined our team upon relocating to the Teton Valley from the Kenai Peninsula. Lantz’s passion for animals traces back to his early childhood in Northern Utah, where he was one of the youngest handlers of working dogs in the region. Upon recognizing the state of animal welfare, Lantz became actively involved with rescue work over 10 years ago. With that inspiration, he has volunteered, fostered, trained, and found loving families for dogs in Idaho, Wyoming, Oregon, Utah, and Alaska.

Lantz has spent the majority of his career as a Naturalist educating his clients on Alaska’s wildlife, glaciers, and climate. The theme in Lantz’s professional work is that he has always positioned himself as a steward and advocate of animals, whether they reside in the wilderness or shelter systems across the US. Lantz’s passion for animal welfare has taken him as far as North Pole where he adopted his “son”, Puck, who he found through rescue & volunteer work in the Arctic of Alaska. His experience and exposure to animal welfare in such vast and varying climates has shaped and cemented his passion for this work, making him an incredibly determined advocate for all animals.

Outside of animal welfare, Lantz has worked for the National Science Foundation in Antarctica and as a Naturalist Guide and Manager for a series of backcountry eco-lodges. You will likely run into Lantz at the trailhead or on the farm looking after our puppy palace residents.