Franci Delong

Franci Delong

Franci Delong was born and raised in the Washington, DC, area and went to college at the University of Delaware. She moved to Salt Lake in order to attend graduate school at the University of Utah. But Franci quickly fell in love with the mountains and deserts and just never left.

Following school, Franci worked 22 years for Unisys, a computer hardware and software manufacturer. That's when she decided it was time for a change. Her love of our native wildflowers inspired her to become a landscape contractor and she started "Xeriscape Design."

Franci has also has another big love - animals. In fact, Franci has had cats every since she was 3 years-old. About 7 years ago, Franci says she became a stray cat magnet. One Christmas Eve she took in "Bro" an orange tabby someone had found in the snow. Another stray cat was rescued from a dumpster by Franci's house sitter while she was on vacation. "Sweet Pea" was found under a shrub outside while it was raining. Another cat belonged to an employee who had to suddenly leave town. The list goes on.

She soon started volunteering for No More Homeless Pets in Utah because shefelt she could help out even more by working with a rescue group. That's when she began helping at our weekend adoptions and fostering cats.