Manuela Rowlings is an animal welfare activist dedicated to delivering impactful projects benefiting thousands of homeless companion animals in Europe and beyond. Manuela is the Head of Stray Animal Care Europe for FOUR PAWS International. In this capacity, Manuela directly manages the programs targeting stray dogs and cats in Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria. These programs focus on delivering sustainable, and humane, population management projects in communities while expanding our efforts across Eastern Europe.

Prior to FOUR PAWS, Manuela spent a decade in South Africa co-founding a rehoming organization for Nordic dogs, and consulting in private practice as an animal behaviorist, positive reinforcement trainer and Tellington Touch practitioner. With a background in large-scale, international project management, Manuela is continuously searching for innovative solutions that will ensure that more stray dogs and cats find loving and responsible families. Manuela has her MSC in Business Administration from the University of Vienna.

Nataliya has worked for FOUR PAWS since 2018. She first started as our Chief Caretaker, and her position as Deputy Director now has her overseeing our bear sanctuary staff, managing our bears’ welfare (including coordinating bear rescues and vet checks, managing intake of prescribed medications, ordering food, etc.), developing sanctuary emergency plans, conducting environmental education, managing sanctuary contractors, and ensuring staff and animal safety during the war in Ukraine.  

All animal species are important to Nataliya, and she has a special affinity for our bears. She is especially drawn to the quote by Martin Buber, “An animal’s eyes have the power to speak a great language,” because she believes you can see how much a bear has suffered by looking in their eyes. Nataliya is happy our rescued animals are in a safe place at our sanctuary and we are grateful for all her hard work ensuring each bear is well cared for. Nataliya and her team are uplifted to see each bear’s health, behavior, and socialization improve throughout their rescue and journey of recovery.