Blue & Melany's Mission
About Melany
Melany Paige Brieno is a lifestyle creator, entrepreneur, and animal advocate from Wisconsin. A former pageant queen and graduate with dual degrees in Criminal Justice and Business Administration, Melany has built her platform around authenticity, resilience, and living with purpose.
A country girl at heart, Melany’s compassion for animals started long before she ever had a platform. She grew up on a farm, was involved in 4-H and FFA, and spent her life caring for animals firsthand. Her love for animals was not something she learned online or followed as a trend, it was something she was raised with.
Over the years, Melany has rescued animals from multiple states, including Texas and Florida, and has driven across the United States to help dogs find safe, loving homes. Her advocacy is rooted in real-life experience, hard work, and a deep belief that every animal deserves protection, dignity, and a chance at a better life.
Known for her passion for animal rescue, entrepreneurship, trucks, and the outdoors, Melany has cultivated a community that values compassion as much as confidence. She is not the typical animal advocate people may expect, she brings a country-raised, hands-on perspective shaped by farm life, rescue work, and a lifelong connection to animals.
In 2026, Melany became deeply involved in the Ridglan Farms rescue effort after spending months advocating for the dogs, raising awareness, documenting concerns, and supporting the mission to bring attention to the animals trapped inside the facility.
In the weeks leading up to the rescue, Melany filed multiple police reports after being followed and harassed. She also faced intimidation and harassment connected to her advocacy work. While protesting animal testing at Ridglan Farms, she was tear-gassed, struck in the head by a rubber bullet, arrested, and held in jail. She was later charged with felony offenses related to her activism, charges she continues to fight.
For Melany, the experience became a defining moment in her life. Rather than silencing her, it strengthened her commitment to speaking out against animal cruelty, exposing injustice, and fighting for those who cannot speak for themselves.
Today, she continues to use her platform to speak for the animals people do not see, the ones who are forgotten, neglected, or treated like their lives do not matter. Ridglan reminded her why she started, but it also gave her a promise she will never break: to keep showing up for animals with compassion, courage, and a heart that refuses to look away from cruelty.
Meet Blue the Beagle
Blue was born and raised inside Ridglan Farms.
For eight years, she lived in a place where she was never meant to be loved. She was used, tested on, forced to breed, and treated like her life only mattered for what humans could take from her.
When I first saw her, she was scared and broken. I opened her kennel, sat with her, and gave her space to decide if she was ready to trust.
Slowly, she crawled out, climbed into my lap, and cried in my arms like she had been waiting eight years to finally feel safe.
While I held her, someone quietly whispered, “You found your forever person.” to Blue.
I will never forget those words.
Blue survived eight years of pain. The rest of her life will be love, safety, and freedom.
Now, Blue and I are on a mission to speak for the voiceless, fight for the forgotten, and help save every dog and animal we can.
Why Rescue Cowgirl Was Created
Rescue Cowgirl was born from a simple belief: compassion should be backed by action.
After witnessing the realities of animal testing and becoming deeply involved in animal rescue and advocacy work, Melany realized that raising awareness alone wasn't enough. She wanted to create a brand that would allow supporters to become part of the mission while helping fund the work that still needs to be done.
Every purchase helps support Melany's efforts to continue speaking out against animal injustice.
Whether you're wearing our hat, displaying a print, or sharing the message with others, you're helping create a future where animals are treated with greater compassion, dignity, and respect.
Together, we can turn awareness into action, and action into change!
Co-founded by Eddie Phanichkul
Eddie Phanichkul has advocated for animals all of his life and has volunteered with organizations like Pitbulls & Friends, a 501(c)(3). Eddie is a champion for animal welfare, supporting rescue organizations, humane treatment, and responsible, ethically regulated scientific research.
Best known for his work as Co-founder of the American Medical Manufacturers Association, working in American PPE manufacturing and advocating for American jobs, Eddie has also co-founded Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey, and is currently running for State Assembly in Wisconsin, District 63.