Meet The Team
Chibi Kaizoku
The BOSS
A Letter from Chibi:
I was born out in the country in a barn with 1 1/2 eyes, 3 legs, and a BIG heart. My hooman parents came and picked me up soon after I was born and named me “Chibi Kaizoku” -- meaning “runt sea thief” in Japanese.
The lady in charge was giving me away for free on facebook and Mommy didn’t want me going into “the wrong hands.” She says there’s a lot of bad people out there in the world and she only wanted the best for my cute face. I don’t know what that all means really, but I’m so thankful I got her as my Mommy!
When I got to my “furever home,” I met my big sisters -- Ginger the Chihuaha and Yumi the Staffie. Soon after that, I got a little brother Koishi Minkus the Chihuahua Mix. I think he’s mixed like me. Then Yuki the Chihuahua/Pug Mix joined my pack. She's a hot mess. I'll share more about her over in my blog.
My fur mama was a Beagle and my fur daddy was a Yorkie/Silky Terrier. Mommy calls me a Borkie. My siblings and I have loads of fun all day together.
Then Mommy brought home other friends for me to play with. They were big and small, young and old. Some were really nice. Some were kinda grouchy. Some were kinda scared. We’re all different, but we all get along and play together.
After a while, my new friends left and went to their “furever” homes. That’s what Mommy calls it, anyways. It kinda made me sad, but Mommy always seems to bring home new friends for me to play with. I also have my core pack - Ginger, Yumi, Minkus, and Yuki I told ya about. We take turns babysitting the babies that come through.
I’m glad we can rescue so many friends. I do think my friends look weird when they have 4 legs. They think I look weird only having 3. They sniff me and nudge me sometimes when they first meet me. We chat for a second and I tell them, “it’s no big deal, I was born this way!” Then we run around, play, and wrestle. I love to play in the dirt. I get worn out after a lot of running, but I sure love having friends!
Mommy named our non-profit rescue “Chibi’s Furiends” because I always welcome a newcomer as my furiend and show them the ropes! I even show them how to use the doggie door! I've only met one guy through the hundred we have saved so far that didn't like me. He was kind of a jerk!
In my spare time, I love a good nap, playing with my tennis ball, and scavenging the yard for good dirt and yummy sticks.
Will you help me find great homes for my furiends? Maybe even donate to our cause and tell others about us?
Robert Yoshioka
President
Hailing from Kahului, Hawaii, Robert has traveled the world and taken part in many professions. He graduated from Webster University with a Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts.
He decided theatre and prop building was no longer for him and went into machinery. When he became bored with that, he decided to become an x-ray technologist getting his Associates Degree in x-ray technology from Jefferson Community College. He then pursued his Master's Degree in Healthcare Administration from Webster University and worked at the Robley Rex VA Hospital.
He applied to be a police officer to utilize his skill sets to help people. He has served the Louisville community for 5 years and loves his job.
Robert got involved with fostering dogs for a couple of local rescues in 2017. When Dianne convinced him to start Chibi's Furiends in 2018, he was all in. He does it because it "makes him feel good" to help dogs in need.
He is heavily involved with community policing as a Department Resource Officer -- working with the Homeless, Code enforcement, Louisville Metro Animal Services, The Synergy Project, and helping anyway he can to save dogs from a life on the streets.
In his spare time, he loves stuffing his face with friends, shooting paper targets at the range, and researching current 2nd amendment trends.
His favorite thing to collect is tools and gadgets for his job.
Loretta Goodin-Kendall
Vice President
Loretta is a professional image consultant, photographer, and romance author.
Along with being Vice President of Chibi’s Furiends, she is also 2018 Mrs. Hoosier State Tourism, and the correspondence secretary for the Theta Alpha Chapter of the Phi Beta Psi Sorority.
As a former owner/founder of the Louisville Fashion Network with over 200 members at its peak, Loretta now focuses on her work in Loretta K Image Consulting, LUX Local Magazine Editor-in-Chief, and writing her next romance novel.
She has over 20 years experience in the beauty and fashion industry and works with models and pageant contestants across the region.
She has been a long time friend of Dianne's and was excited to join the Chibi's Furiends team as Vice President. She helps with events, graphic design, and created Chibi's logo.
In her spare time, Loretta is a fitness enthusiast that can be found getting in a good sweat at the gym. She is also a cat mom to Jack, who rules her home.
She is actively involved in charity work with cancer research, animal rescue, and community outreach programs.
A few of her goals for the next 5 years is to ride in Louisville's very own Weiner Mobile, have her romance novels published and become best sellers, and seeing one of them turned into a movie starring Channing Tatum. Mr. Tatum, if you're reading this, please contact us!
Dianne Sturgeon
Treasurer /
Intake Coordinator
Dianne is a graduate of the University of Louisville with a Bachelors Degree in Health and Human Performance.
She has experience in retail management, sales, photography, and resource management. She is an introverted extrovert who loves to plan and organize. She enjoys her alone time with her dogs to relax and rejuvenate. She loves to travel and has lived in 15 states, and 2 countries.
Dianne started fostering dogs when stationed in San Antonio, TX in 2010. After moving back to Kentucky in 2015, she saw the need was just as great, if not greater, as Texas for animals in need. She got involved with a couple of local Louisville dog rescues as a foster and intake coordinator.
Although she loves those rescues and the experience they gave her, she had a different mission than theirs - saving dogs that would simply be euthanized for space. She wasn't interested in long term medical cases, feeling like $1000 could go towards saving 10 dogs over saving just 1. While that 1 matters, she believes in managing resources and space efficiently and maximizing outcomes for more dogs.
She convinced a team of close friends to form and create Chibi's Furiends. Named after her 3 legged 1 1/2 eyed pup, "Chibi." (Pronounced "Cheebee.") Dianne has aided in the adoptions of over 100 dogs in the 2 short years of Chibi's Furiends' existence.
In her spare time, she loves to watch a good movie, get together with friends for game nights, and plan her next adventure to a foreign country. Dianne is addicted to avocados and fried pickles, and always has kombucha in her fridge.
Her favorite thing to collect is wine and bourbon and she loves checking out wineries and distilleries in the cities that she travels to. On her bucket list is visiting Canada 🇨🇦 , Ireland 🇮🇪 , Sweden 🇸🇪 , Italy 🇮🇹 , Japan 🇯🇵 , and going for a Caribbean cruise. She hopes to accomplish this in the next 5 years.
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Danielle Ames
Dog Trainer,
Kentuckiana Alpha Paws
Danielle was a military police officer with the Kentucky Army National Guard from 2000 to 2012. During that time, she went on three deployments to Cuba, Afghanistan, and Iraq. She learned, quite well, what good leadership can do for people and it is no different for dogs.
She was like most dog lovers, always had dogs in her life and often used "old school" methods for "training" them, like swatting them or rubbing their nose in a potty accident. She even trained her deaf Boxer with hand signals.
Then, a few years ago, she got an unusually anxious Boxer who did not respond well to any of those methods. She went looking for help. What she found was Jo-Thor's Dog Trainers' Academy and the Leadership Method.
As a student, she was hungry for knowledge and excelled in her studies. Now, she is an Instructor for the academy and gets to share her knowledge with other Veterans in the Jo-Thor program while serving her local community as well.
She connected with Chibi's Furiends when randomly meeting Dianne on Facebook. Danielle has worked with a number of Chibi's Furiends' dogs including her foster failure, Blue Winslow and her parent's dog, Khloe - a Chibi's Alumni.
She currently lives in New Albany with her husband and 2 kids.
In her spare time, she runs Kentuckiana Alpha Paws, is a dog walker for Rover, and offers petsitting out of her home when not traveling for kids' baseball games.
Contact her today for your dog training needs!