FURever As Friends  is the dream of Sharon  and John Bednar.  Laurie Appel  joined them as a founding Board member. Working together they have recruited dozens of teams of handlers and pets who carry out the mission of FURever as Friends.  Our services are continually changing and expanding, so we encourage you to check our web site to learn where we are and what we are doing. If you want to join us in this exciting and inspirational community work, let us know!

We look forward to sharing our passion! Together we can spread the healing power of pets helping people – FURever As Friends!

FURever as Friends (FAF) is a Gloucester County, New Jersey based non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization made up of dedicated volunteers and loving, well trained certified therapy dogs, cats and rabbits.

We focus on serving community residents of all ages in  Gloucester, Salem, Camden and Cumberland Counties. The services we provide are specifically designed to offer unconditional love via pet-assisted therapy to adults and children in a variety of different settings.

Sharon Bednar is one of the founders and serves as the President of FURever As Friends.

She has been an MRI Technologist for over 20 years and currently owns and operates a pet walking/sitting business. She is a dedicated volunteer at the Salem County Humane Society as a foster mom for pregnant dogs/cats, baby bottle kittens/puppies & special need pets.  In 2012, Sharon received the Gloucester County Citizen of the Year award. She utilizes her own pets in her pet therapy efforts, who were themselves acknowledged for their outstanding work when they were honored and entered into the New Jersey Veterinary Medical Association Hall of Fame in 2013. Sharon has received numerous recommendations, proclamations and letters from the county, state and U.S. Senate in recognition of her dedication to volunteering. She is also certified as a Canine Good Citizen (CGC) Evaluator through the AKC.

Sharon lives at home with  3 pet therapy dogs, 3 cats (2 are therapy cats), 1 talking bird, husband John,  and numerous foster pets.

John has been married to Sharon for 30 years and has lived in Gloucester County since 1997. John is a business professional with a Master's Degree holding various management level positions with several different companies.

He assisted Sharon in establishing and growing the New Jersey chapter of an out of state pet therapy organization. John provides ongoing care for the special need foster animals from the Salem County Humane Society. John is the proud father of three dogs, three cats and one very talkative bird,
In October 2015, John received the Presidents Volunteer Gold Service Award, Lifetime Achievement Award, Certificate of Special Recognition, Letter from President Obama, State of New Jersey Senate & General Assembly Citation, State of New Jersey Joint Legislative Commendation and Volunteer of the Year Award.

John felt the manner and methods for delivering pet therapy services could be further enhanced by establishing a pet therapy organization based in his own community. With the assistance of his wife and other dedicated volunteers, John's vision is now a reality.

Jennifer  grew up in southern New Jersey, attending Delsea Regional High School.  She and her mother raised Pygmy goats.  As a child, she loved animals and began working at a horse farm in exchange for lessons and riding time.  Mentored by an elderly gentleman and working hard, she eventually bought her own horse.  Continuing to work, she funded the purchase of tack, show and care for her first horse Tuffy. 

Upon graduating high school in 1990, Jennifer began working in a veterinary office where she eventually became a veterinary technician. In December 2001, Jennifer began working at Mullica Hill Farms, Inc. as the Barn Manager. Her years of medical and horse experience make her an ideal manager. Along with the owner of the farm, Jennifer has become active in the Phillies player, Chase Utley family’s charity; The Utley Foundation along with the PSPCA.

After adopting her first Pitbull and realizing the gentle nature of Case, Jennifer was recommended to FURever As Friends and became involved with the group. Jennifer is married to Anthony Jr. and resides in Mullica Hill.  They have a 4 year old son, Anthony III.   In  2018,  Jennifer  received the Volunteer of the Year Award.

Karen is a professional writer who holds a communication degree from La Salle University. She has been involved with FURever As Friends since its inception and first joined with Samantha, a beagle who was a rescue from Virginia. Nowadays, she is actively involved with her two therapy bunnies, Sebastian and Juliet. FAF is close to Karen’s heart and she enjoys promoting the benefits of pet therapy and teaching young children how to be kind to and respect animals.  

Shari became interested in pet therapy after volunteering at the Salem County Humane Society. Pet therapy was her way of spending time with her own pets by sharing the unconditional love of her pets by doing something special with them and sharing them with other people. She visits multiple libraries and assisted living facilities with her pet companions Pongo (dog) and Josh (rabbit) and participates in many of the community events in and around the area. Due to her dedicated service to FAF, Shari was nominated to the Advisory Board of FURever As Friends (FAF) in 2014.  She also agreed to assume the position of time keeper for FAF in order to collect and record all of the volunteer hours for the organization.

Cheryl is a graduate of Glassboro State College with a BA in Elementary Education. Married to her college sweetheart, Kevin, they have two adult sons. Their ten year old cockapoo, Roxy rounds out their family.

As a former educator, the SMILE program appeals to Cheryl. She values the importance of strong reading skills at an early age. Reading skills are essential for academic and life long success.

Volunteering is an opportunity to change lives. Cheryl has devoted her time to a number of organizations. As a leukemia survivor, she is a First Connection volunteer with the Leukemia Lymphoma Society assisting newly diagnosed patients.

Phyllis is an ASCP registered medical laboratory technologist and has been working in her field since 1985. After receiving her Bachelor of Science degree in 1983  from the University of Delaware,  Phyllis resided in Gloucester County.

In 1987, she became a Salem County resident and   together with her husband, she raised 3 wonderful children. Although the children are grown and live on their own, the nest is still feathered with multiple dogs and cats.

Mitzi is a lifelong resident of Gloucester County and a recent retiree from the business world. During a difficult time in her life she adopted a beautiful puppy whom she named Angel. Mitzi likes to say we rescued each other. Angel brought so much healing and happiness into her life that she decided they needed to go out and help others in the community.  So in 2014 they joined FURever as Friends and now visit libraries, schools, nursing homes, funeral homes and hospitals.  You may even see them at a farm stand or two!

Mitzi can't express how much her heart swells every time they visit somewhere and see all the joy they bring into people's lives.

Gardening is also a passion for Mitzi.  She belongs to the Herb Society of America and the Certified Gardeners of Gloucester County.  So besides seeing Mitzi with Angel, you may come across their path planting flowers and vegetables throughout the county or working in the butterfly house at Red Bank Battlefield in National Park.

Rachel grew up in South Jersey and is a graduate of Clearview Regional High School. She received her animal science degree from Camden County College, making possible her dream of working with animals. She was a veterinary technician at Delaware Valley Veterinary Hospital for about 7 years. During that time she took care of countless dogs, cats, rabbits, exotic animals, and wildlife. In 2011 she accomplished her dream in becoming a horse owner when she found Fenway. The following year she found her “soul pet” - a beautiful newborn puppy she named Mona. As Mona grew, she proved to be a gentle dog and thrived on interacting with adults and children and making them smile.

Seeing her potential, Rachel and Mona joined FURever As Friends in 2015. Since then Mona has brought countless smile and laughter to those individuals who meet and interact with her.

Dr. John completed his undergraduate degree from Delaware Valley College in Doylestown, Pennsylvania with a B.S. in Animal Science.  He then attended the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine in Philadelphia.

Dr. John has been practicing small animal veterinary medicine in Southern New Jersey since graduating from veterinary school in 2003. He purchased Tri-County Veterinary Hospital in January 2007. Dr. John lives in Southern New Jersey with his wife, Sheri , two sons, John and Mateo, and his dog named Ruby. When he isn't working, Dr. John  enjoys spending time outdoors on the farm with his family.

Aaron Spring has been actively involved with FURever As Friends (FAF) since its inception in January 2014 with a pleasant personality and a kind smile has a deep affection for animals and this carries over into his work as a junior member of FAF. His responsibilities include teaching young children the proper way to approach and pet a dog, how to give a dog a treat, demonstrating the need to show kindness to animals, and explaining what FAF, a nonprofit therapy animal organization, does in the community for people of all ages. 

In addition to working with youngsters, Aaron assists adult members of FAF at various community events throughout the year to promote the organization's message of helping and reaching people through the use of loving therapy animals. He can be found at the Deptford Library and West Deptford Library with his parents and his two Rabbits Sebastian and each month for FAF's SMILE Program, a reading campaign that is hosted at various libraries in southern New Jersey and encourages children to read to trained therapy animals. As a junior member, Aaron handles both of his rabbits and also helps other adult members with their pets as needed.