I can’t believe this May will be six years with Wild Blue.  It all started when I went to get some cat food at the Petco in University Village, and first met Melinda.  She was of course trying to get me to hold some kittens, and I said, “No thank-you, I already have four cats, but I would be interested in volunteering”.

I started at the sanctuary on the Monday morning shift, and within a month I was fostering and working the fairs.  My work schedule changed after a couple of years, so the Monday sanctuary shift has gone away, but the fairs and fostering have not.  I’ve added fundraising event support and as of last year, I’m part of the Fancy Feast team.  It was a lot of work, but when we saw we beat all previous records with dollars raised, I was hooked and I’m in again this year.

Fostering is something different every time; lovey-friendly-social, hissy-pissy-swatty, and everything in between.  The satisfaction of successfully socializing a scared and hissy kitten is like nothing else.  And many of my friends have come over for kitten therapy.  I held out for about 1 ½ years before I foster failed.  Some will remember Barley, he was pretty sick, and didn’t make it.  Then I brought Ector home from the sanctuary to “socialize” him.  He was the biggest sweetest gentle giant in the kitten room with all the fosters.  After had been with me for 4-6 months, I just couldn’t bring him back to the sanctuary. He is still a timid boy but has come a very long way.

My cats weren’t totally welcoming, and he needed a friend, so along came George-George of the Jungle-Boy George-Georgie Porgie.  I lost my beautiful gray boy Ash, and shortly after that Sunny came into my life.  I tried to convince myself he was too needy, and too lovey, and too clingy, and pleaded for another volunteer to adopt him, well….he was foster fail number 3 (technically 4 with Barley), and now I have 6 cats.  I say this is my max, but you never know what the future brings!  Here’s to the next four years, and my upcoming decade with Wild Blue.