When Scott Poore walked away from a well‑paid corporate sales job nearly 15 years ago, he did so to answer a deeper calling: helping the animals that linger longest in Kansas shelters. A Shawnee Mission East graduate, Poore swapped his dream car for daily volunteer shifts at the Great Plains SPCA in Merriam, where he first noticed the rows of kennels marked with warnings like “no cats,” “no kids,” and “staff only.”
Turning a Facebook page into a rescue platform
Poore realized that the newly launched Facebook platform let him share photos and videos instantly. He began climbing into the kennels, recording each dog’s story, and posting the clips to his modest network of just over 130 friends. The raw, honest videos resonated, and the following quickly grew into the thousands.
Today, Poore estimates that roughly 75 % of the dogs he has featured have been adopted, translating to thousands of animals finding permanent families. He focuses on the hardest‑to‑place dogs—those that have spent years waiting—rather than the typical four‑month‑old puppies that attract most attention.
Fundraising and expanding the mission
Beyond adoption videos, Poore leverages his audience for fundraising drives. In 2025 alone, he helped raise about $1.5 million for local shelters, rescue groups, and outreach programs. Followers have responded to Amazon wish‑list campaigns, emergency medical needs (such as a recent $1,500 parvo case), and larger projects like HVAC upgrades, plumbing repairs, and fenced play yards for rural facilities that lack basic resources.
Recognizing that many rural shelters lack the promotional tools of larger Kansas City facilities, Poore extended his outreach to those communities, providing both publicity and material support.
Entrepreneurial ventures that fund the cause
To sustain his work, Poore launched a pet‑themed apparel line, Mission Driven Goods, which began with a simple T‑shirt sold from his car trunk. Although that brand ceased operations last year, a new venture, Kansas City Dog Treats Co., continues to generate revenue. The treat company produces locally‑branded snack packs featuring Kansas City icons such as the Current, the Royals, and upcoming Country Club Plaza holiday‑lights designs.
Addressing mental‑health challenges in animal‑welfare work
Poore is candid about the toll shelter work can take on staff. He notes that many in the animal‑welfare community struggle with mental‑health issues, suicide, and addiction, often unable to afford professional help. Having achieved sobriety himself, Poore started the Twenty Percent movement, a resource hub offering mental‑health and addiction support listings for Kansas and Missouri residents. He hopes to eventually create a nonprofit that will sponsor treatment for those who cannot pay.
Personal companions and future goals
Poore’s own companion, Leo—a 12‑year‑old wheaten terrier‑plummer spaniel mix rescued from a shelter—serves as a calming presence for dogs transitioning through his home before returning to shelter life. Looking ahead, Poore aims to launch another nonprofit focused on subsidizing mental‑health care for animal‑welfare workers.
From a corporate office to the front lines of Kansas shelters, Scott Poore’s story illustrates how one person’s dedication, amplified by modern technology, can give long‑awaiting dogs a fresh start and strengthen the broader community.
Original reporting: Johnson County Post (Overland Park) — read the source article.
