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About Nordlys Animal Network
Nordlys Animal Network is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit taking shape in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
We’re building partnerships and programs to expand access to veterinary care for pets, support families facing difficult circumstances, and help injured wildlife receive early life saving veterinary care.
Why We Began
For over 30 years, I’ve cared for companion animals and the people who love them.
Whether working in private practice, nonprofit clinics, or community outreach, I’ve kept coming back to one question: How can we make veterinary care more accessible?
When my husband, Shawn, and I moved to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and I started North Heart Vet Gwinn Sawyer, that question took on new urgency. Veterinary resources can be limited, distances are great, and families may struggle to get care for their pets—not because they don’t care, but because life can be complicated.
I’ve also come to know the wildlife rehabilitators, conservationists, volunteers, and veterinarians who work to give injured native wildlife a second chance. Wildlife care is a newer part of my own journey. It has reinforced something I’ve always believed: meaningful change happens when people work together.
Those experiences inspired Nordlys Animal Network.
What We’re Building
Our goal is to strengthen access to veterinary care through community programs, financial assistance, education, and partnerships. We also aim to support early veterinary assessment for injured wildlife and the people who care for them. We are still building. Programs need to be developed, partnerships strengthened, and volunteers welcomed. Our nonprofit status is an important milestone and a foundation for the work ahead.
The People Behind Nordlys
I founded Nordlys with Shawn Spencer and C.J. Bentley. Shawn brings experience in marketing, franchising, and volunteer work, along with a deep love of animals. C.J., a Michigan native, brings decades of experience in the animal nonprofit sector. Together, we believe Nordlys can bring people and resources together around practical, compassionate ways to help.
— Dr. Joanna Spencer, DVM
Founder, Nordlys Animal Network
Notice. Act. Nurture.
Notice the family quietly struggling.
Notice the pet whose care feels just out of reach.
Notice the injured hawk, eagle, turtle, or loon that needs help.
Every act of compassion begins when someone chooses to notice.
From there, we can act together—and nurture stronger connections among animals, people, and our communities.