Meet Linda! With over 1,000 volunteer hours, she has been involved with just about every cat volunteer opportunity we have to offer: kitty cuddler, foster mom to kittens, cat photo pack member, crafty critter, and lead volunteer and trainer. Linda loves getting to know the cats and celebrating when they are adopted.
She remembers one particular couple that made a real impact on her. People like them, she says, are the kind of people she really likes to help. The two came into the Pet Alliance after their senior cat passed away. They asked specifically to see cats seven years of age or older, and let Linda know they were looking to adopt two.
They spent an hour and a half visiting one-on-one with eight different senior cats, taking their time to decide which two they really connected with. This experience was very rewarding for Linda, and she enjoys the opportunity to meet and help serious adopters find new feline companions. She also likes the fact that she gets to work with other volunteers that consider themselves “cat ladies.”
A Pet Alliance volunteer of two years, Linda decided to volunteer because she wanted everyone to feel that unconditional love that an adopted cat gives. She has four cats of her own, two of which were “foster failures:” Rusty, 13 years-old; Rum Tum Tugger, 6 year-old; Grizabella, 3 years-old; and Jasmine 1 year-old.
With a 25 year tenure at Gannett Co./USA Today, Linda is now retired and spends her time with her three grandchildren, being a political news junkie, and keeping her brain busy with Facebook games and crossword puzzles. Her advice to new or potential volunteers? “Stay committed! While only six hours a month is required, I recommend doing at least one shift a week. You’ll enjoy it and so will our animals.”
