Carrie Maria

Founder, CEO, Manager

 

Carrie co-founded The Monster Minders in 2005 after returning to Philadelphia from years of working and living abroad. Picking up a "few dog walking clients" was meant to be temporary while she applied to grad school, but quickly became something much bigger. Over two decades later, she leads a service company rooted in reliability, strong operations, and genuinely thoughtful care.

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Over the years, Carrie has become a well-known voice in Philadelphia’s animal welfare community. She served on the Mayor’s Animal Advisory Council for the City of Philadelphia and the board of ACCT Philly, the city’s animal control shelter for five years. In 2011, she founded The Monster Milers, a nonprofit that matched shelter dogs with volunteer runners. The group made a lasting impact on local rescue, inspired similar programs across the country, and hosted Philly’s first dog-friendly 5K and adoption event at the Navy Yard.

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When she’s not leading the Minders team, Carrie can be found in her community garden, going for a run, or planning her next quilting project. She’s passionate about building community: whether it’s through local animal welfare, local public schools, or finding joy in the little things (like good coffee and tacos).

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Carrie and her husband, Lindsay, share their lives with Tui, a rescued pup from Street Tails Animal Rescue. He's about as obsessed with her as she is of him. He lives for napping on top of Carrie, chewing on everything, and wrestling at the dog park.

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Pictured above are the dogs she has walked through life with: Max (1999(?)-2012), Lola (2006-2019) and Jax (2010(?)-2025), and Tui.​