Meet Kristi Butler | Founder & President of Street Paws, Inc.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kristi Butler and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kristi, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Street Paws didn’t begin as a business idea. It began as a promise.

My love for animals started in childhood. I grew up in a modest home where cats and dogs were always part of the family, and my mother taught me early that compassion isn’t optional – it’s a responsibility. When my parents divorced and we lost our home, I started working at 14 to help my mom. I took a job at a stable caring for Clydesdale horses. I didn’t realize it at the time, but that experience shaped the rest of my life.

One moment, though, changed everything.

When I was 17 or 18, I was at the Harris County dump and found a litter of deformed puppies discarded like trash. At that time, there was no animal control, no rescue groups – the only solution for stray dogs was to call the Sheriff to shoot them. I didn’t have money, resources, or knowledge. I only had conviction. I bought a bag of dog food and went back every week until the puppies were gone. That day, I made a vow: one day, I would dedicate my life to helping animals who had no one.

Years later, while working in Atlanta, I encountered stray and injured dogs daily…many of them abused, abandoned, or used for fighting. Over two years, I helped more than 50 dogs find rescue or placement. One Great Dane I found, emaciated and barely alive, stayed with me forever. I couldn’t save them all, but I couldn’t look away either.

Volunteering at my local humane society with my daughter from 2006 to 2012 gave me structure and experience. But my real work had already begun: feeding dogs in parking lots, rescuing strays from wooded areas, helping animals living in what I now call “the in-between world.”

The true catalyst for Street Paws was a 125-pound feral dog named Rio. He lived in a parking lot. The first night he growled at me. I fed him anyway. I fed him every day for 18 months. I stood over him with an umbrella during rainstorms. I protected him. And I promised him I would find a better way to help animals like him, not just one at a time, but systemically.

While caring for Rio, I discovered a feral dog pack near Mt. Zion. For five years, we worked daily to feed, protect, and slowly rescue them. We pulled over 60 puppies from that pack and found them homes. We also lost dogs to traffic and hardship. Ending that cycle required persistence, strategy, and heart.

Then there were the cats. Entire colonies living near businesses and neighborhoods – hundreds over time. That work evolved into organized TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) efforts and feeding stations that dramatically reduced overpopulation. To date, we’ve sterilized more than 537 feral cats, preventing thousands of unwanted litters.

Street Paws officially became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit on December 25, 2012. But in truth, it was born long before the paperwork – in parking lots, under fallen trees, at roadside feeding stations, and in promises made to animals who couldn’t ask for help.

During all of this, I was also fighting my own battle. In 2009, I was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy and experienced heart failure. My recovery strengthened my resolve. I realized even more deeply that life is fragile — for people and for animals — and that purpose matters.

I started Street Paws because I saw a gap. Shelters are essential, but they often address the symptom, not the source. True change happens at the street level through prevention, spay and neuter, education, and intervention before suffering escalates.

I didn’t wait for someone else to step in.

I became that someone.

Today, Street Paws is still a small 1,500-square-foot shelter, a handful of dedicated volunteers, foster homes, and a big vision. We dream of building a sanctuary where feral dogs and cats can live safely and where clinics, education programs, and community outreach can thrive.

Street Paws began with a promise – to Rio, to Ears, to Buff Kitty, and to every unseen animal trying to survive.

It is my mission.

It is my passion.

And it is the legacy I am building one life at a time.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I started out in my personal career as a receptionist at 18 years old and worked my way up to management in my early 20’s. I spent 17 1/2 years at Burnham Service Corporation which was eventually purchsed by UPS and my last 7 years were spent as a Quality Manager and then a Project Manager.

When I had to leave my job to get married I found a job as an Office Manager at True Value in Jonesboro where I spent 13 year and I built my rescue efforts around that area.

I retired at 50 and now I run Street Paws full time.

Growing my career was hard, I ended up as a single mom raising my daughter Tayler. My family helped me and supported me so much.

I have wanted to give up so many times but I just keep pushing forward.

I know that I have rare traits and without those I could not accomplish what I do and the animals need me.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I am a small town girl and my husband and I love to support local businesses. For fine dining we would visit Pandora on the Square, for entertainment we would visit Southern Roots. For a casual dinner we love mexican and we are regulars at Pedro’s on East Lake Rd. We also love to entertain at home so we usually hold a seafood boil and hang out in our shop.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There have been so many people that helped us get where we are. I do not want anyone to feel left out.

Nancy McRae, Ashley Autrey, Serena Roy, Cheryl Durban, Megan Bennett, Patrick Coleman and Jennifer Evans were some of our core team when we were on the streets with the pack. We could not have helped them without such committment.

We value every volunteer past and present that helps us reach our mission to help animals.

Clayton County Humane Society provided us with much needed food to feed the animals until we were established.

Lulu’s Fund and Second Life Atlanta have provided much needed funds to help these animals.

We have so many sponsors for our Spayghetti and No Meatballs Dinner yearly that without that funding we could not operate.

The Mary Davis estate paid for so many animals TNR and medical care, thank you to Michele Hall for telling them about us.

Website: https://www.streetpaws.org

Instagram: streetpaws2013

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/street-paws

Twitter: https://x.com/StreetPaws

Facebook: https://facebook.com/streetpaws

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/street-paws-locust-grove

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt3hg_H7rT9t2Z-lx5DwHNw

Other: Google https://share.google/m3rp37mpFVFR4g0fM