Stray Thoughts Winter 2018 Hearty Thanks Continued
Lily Janowiak of Wheaton turned 9 and asked for donations for the shelter instead of gifts for her . She donated food , treats , towels and $ 30.00 .
Lily Janowiak
Naomi Friedman raised money through bake sales to purchase food and supplies for the animals at the shelter .
Doggie Depot in Downers Grove did a holiday giving tree and asked their customers and employees to bring in donations for the shelter . They donated tons of food , supplies , toys , batteries , stamps and $ 280 .
Lauren Minardi ’ s 5th grade students donated $ 80 to the shelter for their holiday party .
Doggie Depot
Every other Saturday morning , you will find volunteers
Candy Fisher , Nancy Ranieri , John Moll , Kris Blumka and her daughter Carissa feeding , medicating and cleaning the House Cats area of the shelter . That ’ s a lot of work to accomplish before the shelter opens at 11:00 a . m ., so Carissa said their strategy is to divide and conquer . “ Nancy works in ISO , John works in the front offices , Candy and Kris work in receiving , and I do the kitten room ,” she explained . Then , we all come back together once we finish our sections to help with any final tasks .”
They all agreed that they work together well as a team , “ although we sometimes fantasize about how we ’ d design a more effective shelter ( if we won the lottery ). I really would miss the craziness that occurs from our sharing the current space ,” Nancy admitted .
Most of the volunteers on this shift have worked together for years , with Kris and Carissa being the newest additions in 2015 , and they have all had some interesting experiences along the way . Candy said “ at least once a month , you can find me lying on the floor , reaching under the cages to pull out an escapee .” Kittens always make the work interesting for Carissa , who explained , “ Whenever I lean over in the kitten room , one of them will jump on my back and ride around while I continue to move and clean !”
It ’ s no surprise that these cat lovers also have cats at home . Nancy has two cats – Ally , a 15-year-old rescue from another shelter , and Lucy , a WSHS foster failure . Candy reported , “ I currently have four cats . Priscilla is a rescue from a feral mom in southern Indiana . Dori was adopted from WSHS as a shy cat , and George and Vanessa are my permanent fosters .” Kris and Carissa live with a tuxedo cat named Tuxy , who was originally a stray who would wander around their backyard and is now “ one of
Volunteer Spotlight
the most friendly cats I have met , and is super tolerant ,” said Carissa .
When asked what they like most about volunteering at WSHS , helping the animals was at the top of the list . Nancy said , “ I know I ’ ve made their environment better if I ’ ve loved or fed a cat that needed it , or cleaned , organized or laundered something that has contributed to an animal ’ s benefit . And I ’ ve probably laughed my way through it if I ’ m working with my usual team !”
That is evident in a story Carissa shared : “ There were two cats named Buttercup and Biscuit who stayed in receiving for a while , and when Candy saw them , she would say , “ well , butter my buns and call me a biscuit !” A few weeks later Nancy came with a personalized shirt she made that had that saying on it for Candy !”
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