Sunday, October 22, 2006
Tell them Rachel sent you.
As you all know, I'm on maternity leave. I spend my days and nights caring for two 4 week-old twin gals. Occassionally I get a break and get to hang out with my son while dad takes care of the gals. This morning was one of those times.I went to run some errands and get some bagels and coffee. While in Noahs, I recognized a volunteer. I don't know all the volunteers these days, but I knew him. He and his daughter come weekly to the shelter to clean cat cages. They are there every single weekend, scooping litter, spraying out cages, feeding kitties, and scrubbing floors. Although we have had volunteers cleaning for years, I am still impressed with folks who choose to spend their Saturday morning doing this less than glamorous activity.
But back to Noahs. I'm with my son and I'm not a chit chatty person, so I don't say anything to him at Noahs. Then we head to Starbucks and minutes later, there he is again. My son has a little tantrum and the volunteer smiles. Unable to pretend I don't recognize him at this point, I say, "Heading over to clean the cats today?"
He looks surprised and says, "Oh! I didn't recognize you." He then goes on to say, very apologetically, that they were unable to go yesterday and can't go today. I said, "That's OK, I haven't been there in weeks. I'm on leave."
Then he says, "We are volunteering for the Winter Cat Campaign. It's great. It makes us feel so good about what we are doing and it only takes about 30 minutes. We love it!"
Although the Winter Cat Campaign was officially started after I left for leave, I helped set it up, so I knew what he was talking about. A collaborative effort with Fix our Ferals, the campaign focuses trapping, neutering and releasing feral cats in a certain neighborhood. Fix our Ferals supplies the trapping expertise and outreach while the East Bay SPCA supplies the location for the recovery as well as steeply discounted spay neuter surgeries. Both groups recruited volunteers to help trap and care for the cats after the surgery.
From what I hear, it is going very well. If you are interested in getting involved, email volunteer@eastbayspca.org. Tell them Rachel sent you.
