About: I’m 32 years old, born and raised in Los Angeles. I love to learn, and have been service oriented since my Boys Scout days. I currently live in Shadow Hills, CA (part of Sunland) in a community full of horses.
How many cats do you own?
I currently own two cats – Rocky (who looks like a Siamese) and Sammy (who looks like a Russian blue). I’d actually say that they own me – they’re just nice enough to let me sleep under the same roof sometimes. I also get to spend time with my girlfriend’s two lovely cats Skittles (a short hair tuxedo) and Harley Quinn (a short hair calico).
Years volunteering at FixNation?
I’ve only been volunteering at FixNation since August or September. My friend works there and mentioned being short on volunteers, so I showed up to help and just kept coming back.
What do you do at FixNation?
I’ve done lots at FixNation – helped with check-in and checkout by moving cats about, helped clean surgical instruments at the days’ end, helped prep cats for surgery, helped process cats and traps after checking, swept floors, called clients to let them know their cats are ready, prepping traps for clients to pick up, folding newspapers for trap liners, hauling various things from A to B and sometimes back again – anything that falls in the category of repetitive busywork. I like to think that I’m letting the professionals there focus on their job and not have to worry about a bit of the tedium on occasion.
Favorite thing about volunteering at FixNation?
My favorite thing about volunteering for FixNation is knowing that I’m helping cats. I’ve had cats for as long as I’ve been alive, and love the impact that the clinic has had to make my community a better place.
How is volunteering with FixNation different than any of your previous volunteer experiences?
Volunteering for FixNation is different because I’m helping animals that can’t otherwise help themselves. Stray cats live a hard enough life, and I like to think I help make it a bit better by helping the clinic which in turn keeps the cats from reproducing and on occasion gets them a needed health check.
What would you say to someone interested but wary of getting involved?
I’d tell someone wary of volunteering that there are many ways they can help, big or small. The clinic has volunteers that do all kinds of things like sew trap covers or fold/donate newspapers, each to their own capacity. Understand that volunteering doesn’t mean playing with cats; it does involve making a better life for homeless cats that otherwise don’t get time or attention from their communities.
