Heather was born into a family of farmers and educators in rural central New York. She spent more than 20 years working on social justice issues with the ACLU, Louisiana Justice Coalition, and National Association for Public Defense. She moved to Big Bend National Park in 2010. Alarmed by the number of animals in shelters and on the streets of West Texas, she started The Underground Dog in 2019, which she ran as a volunteer for 5 years. She loves wild places and wild life and lives off the grid at the end of a dirt road in Terlingua, TX with her partner Mark, their pets, and an incredible view. In her free time, she is working to learn Spanish (figures that the language she already studied is French!). She rarely goes anywhere without a dog or three.

Sergio has lifetime roots in Far West Texas and across the Mexican state of Chihuahua. He graduated high school in Van Horn, TX and after high school worked in the fields and for area ranches. Sergio served in the Army for 4 years stationed between Washington and Hawaii with a short stint in Japan. For a time Sergio worked in corrections in Odessa, Monahans and Marfa, Texas. He was the lone Animal Control Officer for the City of Presidio from April 2016-April 2023. Sergio lives with his wife Zulma and rescue pups Waldo and Canela in Odessa, TX. He has 4 children and a gaggle of grandkids and spends much of his free time with his family across the region. Like most desert residents, he dreams of the beach.

Lori was born and raised in Pennsylvania but decided to head out West after graduating from college in the mid '90s. A career with the National Park Service moved her around Colorado, Arizona and Utah before she landed in the Big Bend region of Texas fifteen years ago. A lifelong lover of canines, Lori has always volunteered or worked at shelters and rescues along the way, and for the last five years she has served on the board of The Underground Dog, fostered dozens of adorable puppies, and learned more about cats than she could have imagined. Lori lives in Marathon, TX with her husband Steve and their four dogs. She enjoys long walks in the desert, birding and photography.