Hi everyone! I’m so incredibly grateful and honored to be named Volunteer of the Month.
My journey with Wild Blue Cats started from a place of heartbreak. We suddenly lost my sweet six-month-old orange kitty Momo, when he went to get neutered, I desperately needed some healing kitty snuggles. I went for a meet and greet that weekend at the sanctuary where Duo decided to show me some loving. I went home, filled out an application and started volunteering August, 2024. I quickly jumped into helping out on Sunday mornings because the sanctuary was shorthanded. By November 2024, I stepped up as a team lead/co-lead.
Of course, those Wild Blue kitties have a way of working their healing magic. A few weeks after starting, we adopted our first Wild Blue alum, Midna (named after Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, formerly Kinggussie). A little over a year later, I was ready to expand our little family. For my birthday, I filled out the adopter form for our second Wild Blue kitty. As a One Piece fan, and my spirit animal being a monkey, I found the perfect match: Monkey D. Dragon.
My son, Lincoln, was in on the secret and loved helping me drop hints to his mom that Midna was lonely and needed a brother. Eventually, my wife came around and agreed to let us go see him. A few seconds after holding him, I knew that he was going to be ours. We usually shorten his name to Monkey or Chunky Monkey! Both kitties share our home with Rose, a sweet dog from another local rescue.
Because I work full-time during the week, you’ll find me primarily at the sanctuary on Sunday mornings. If you look closely at my volunteer badge, you’ll see my official title is “Official Can Opener.” It definitely feels like that is my true purpose in life, both for my own kitties and the hungry kitties at the sanctuary who can never get enough! Outside of work and volunteering, I love gaming, fishing, and telling bad dad jokes to Lincoln and 3d printing. I also recently upgraded my astrophotography setup to take new of the night sky. On top of everything, my wife and I just celebrated a massive milestone last month: 20 years of marriage and 25 years together!
While it wasn’t a happy beginning that brought me to Wild Blue, I am so profoundly grateful for where the road led. I’ve met so many wonderful people from all different backgrounds who share a deep love for taking care of these bundles of joy. Thank you all so much!