Chapter 1 - For the Love of At-Risk Pets

I decided to make the first UNBEATEN Insight I share, one of joy and Hope. 

During my journey through the Criminal Justice System I was privileged to get to know Staci Alonso, founder of Noah’s Animal House in Nevada. She had been nominated as a 2019 CNN HERO, and I was particularly honored when she asked me to be her keynote speaker at her Noah’s celebratory event in Las Vegas on 11th October, 2019. Visit - noahsanimalhouse.org

In crafting the speech below I learned an invaluable lesson. I discovered my personal Tipping Points. These are the moments when something happens that hammers home that things cannot continue the way they are. Those moments when you finally realize that action is imperative. That the direction of your life must change.

I urge you to remain open to your Tipping Points.
Your life might depend on it.

My TIPPING POINt SPEECH

Good Evening Staci!
Hello Noah’s Animal House fans!

Over the next few minutes I hope to illustrate just how honored and humbled I am to be here tonight for Staci and Noah’s Animal House.

While employed as Global Director of Consumer Insights and Planning for The Coca-Cola Company, and then working as a Marketing consultant for Sir Richard Branson of Virgin fame, I reveled in the privilege of interviewing 1000s of people around the world. These interviews with the poorest of the poor, to the supposedly ‘rich and famous’, spanned 48 different countries. But very few people have touched me to the core the way Staci and her Noah Mission has. 

Let me tell you a story.

In truth none of my business accomplishments and ‘credentials’ mean a thing. For 7 years I endured brutal physical and unspeakable psychological abuse at the hands of my intimate partner, Todd Thomas Kress. For 2551 days he used a variety of barbaric tactics to control and degrade me. He bound and gagged me, whipped me with a rope and tire dog toy, threw me into walls, suffocated me with a pillow, punched me in the face, strangled me while begging me to commit suicide, and dropped me face first into a concrete floor. I endured the agony of broken bones, repeated death threats, and pervasive hopelessness. 

Now the common belief is that domestic abuse is not supposed to happen “to someone like me.” However, Domestic Abuse is all around us, indiscriminately striking 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men.

Here’s one glimpse of the scale of DV homicides - The number of American troops killed in Afghanistan and Iraq between 2001-2012 is 6488. During that same time period the number of American women murdered by a current or ex-partner is almost double that!

Against this backdrop let me elaborate on why Staci unequivocally deserves to be recognized as CNN’s Hero of the year.

I have called tonight’s address - ‘Tipping Points’. 

A tipping point is defined as “the critical point in an evolving situation that leads to an irreversible development.”

Considering the abuse I endured the obvious question you should be pondering is “Why did she stay?” The advice all around me was to flee to a shelter because domestic homicide was on my horizon. But no DV shelter in Texas would accept my 3 rescue mutts. I could no sooner leave my precious dogs with that sadistic bastard than I could leave a child. Staci fundamentally ‘gets’ why Victims stay in abusive relationships because of their pets. She knows that fleeing without them is incomprehensible.

But then came the night that Todd Kress was arrested. That was the night that Stella and Dax rushed to my side despite the blows that rained down on me. That was the night that they too were beaten, for the first – and the last - time. Their abuse was my Tipping Point #1. After 7 years he hit my dogs! And then there was no turning back. 

When your life is in ruins the one thing left to depend on is the unconditional love of a pet. When the person you love and share a home with has shattered your faith in humanity, all that remains is the unwavering support of your dogs. Staci’s understands the power of the Victim/pet bond. She knows that pets are the glue that holds shattered lives together. 

Let’s fast-forward 15 months to Tipping Point # 2. 

By then I was deeply mired in the incomprehensible Criminal Justice System. In a case like mine where there is a preponderance of evidence of abuse, the Defense team’s only strategy is a war of attrition. 

On May 2nd, in a fog of fatigue, I walked past the TV on my way to the kitchen. I became rooted to the spot. CNN were covering the story of a 2019 Hero nominee. I caught maybe 15 seconds of the story, but enough to be able to immediately Google “Noah’s Animal House”. At that moment nothing was more important than sending an email to the founder, Staci Alonso. Struggling to see through tears I was compelled to ‘embrace’ this stranger. 

And about 2 hours later my phone rang. Caller ID displayed the name Staci Alonso. I could not have been more shocked if God had called me. I was almost too overwhelmed to answer. But I did, and at this Tipping Point an authentic stranger gave me the inspiration and the determination to endure. Talking to Staci reinforced that giving up on Justice was not an option. 

In July of this year, against all odds, my abuser, Todd Thomas Kress, was finally convicted of 3 felonies for Continuous Family Violence and incarcerated. Because of this gift of Justice I have chosen to shine a light on extraordinary people like Staci Alonso who have devoted themselves to the victims of DV and their pets.

Staci’s gift of safety and healing is astounding. But she is accomplishing something else that is fundamentally brilliant. By harnessing our collective love of pets Staci provides more comfortable access to the toxicity that surrounds Domestic Violence. By giving the pets of Victims a Voice, she is bringing DV out of the shadows of shame. Your very presence here tonight illustrates Staci’s transformational power.

I’d like to leave you with this quote from Mahatma Gandhi:

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” 

Through her compassionate work with at-risk animals and their abused humans, Staci Alonso shines a spotlight on the moral greatness of our nation.  

She is the embodiment of what it means to be a Hero.

I thank you for your attention!