I hope you all get the chance to meet our amazing volunteer Kathy!
Kathy was born in MonteVista, Colorado and moved with her family to Glenwood Springs shortly after where she spent her childhood. She received her Associates degree from Mesa College and then her Bachelors from Colorado State University. From there she went on to get her Masters in Business Management from Webster University. Kathy worked in the restaurant industry, she delivered papers, and worked for the State Highway Department. From there she managed the True Value Hardware store for 2 years then went on to join the Air Force Transportation and Logistics Management Arena for 20 years.
After her retirement from the Air Force, Kathy moved to Belize where she spent 12 years rescuing dogs and cats and owning and operating Belize Diving Services. While in Belize she began forming a humane society to care for the many cats and dogs who had little to no care. Today they have a viable Humane Society, a vet, and a group of locals who care for the animals. While in Belize, Kathy fell in love with several furry friends. She ended up bringing 8 cats and 4 dogs back to Colorado with her. Though many have passed away, she still has Nosito and Dean. Dean is a black kitty who was found in a puddle of water following Hurricane Dean. Nosito is black and white kitty. She also has 2 cats that she adopted from Larimer Humane Society. Harley is an orange buff boy and Angel is a long-haired orange and white girl. Finally she has Miss Emma, a terrier mix, who was adopted from Animal Friends Alliance in 2020. In total Kathy has 4 cats and one dog presently. She says she can’t imagine life without pets, cats to cuddle with and dogs to walk with and all to talk to.
Upon returning to Colorado, Kathy started volunteering with the Humane Society and then Friends of Ferals. Wanting more hands on experience not only in Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) but also in adoptions she started volunteering with Fort Collins Cat Rescue & Spay/Neuter Clinic (now Animal Friends Alliance) in 2014. Although she has volunteered with several rescues, Animal Friends Alliance has goals and values that are most aligned with hers. She hopes that volunteering will encourage others to do the same and that they will do it with a purpose rather than just to say they did it. She believes that without volunteers, especially with non-profits, there would be no success and that our community depends on volunteers to ensure organizations like ours have a positive impact for a healthy and happy community. Kathy utilizes her skills as a prior Veterinary Technician and her experience working exclusively with TNR for another organization. She is very familiar with feral cats and how to handle them while under our care.
Over the years, Kathy has volunteered in Shelter Cat Care, Transfers, Laundry Angel, Supply Drives, Outreach, Adoption Counseling, Animal Intake, Ringworm Ward Assistant, Mobile Adoptions, Fostering, Kibble Supply, and as a Board Member. She is still active in most of the assignments but primarily as a Ringworm Assistant, Fostering, Mobile Adoptions and is a current Board Member. To Kathy, volunteering has always been at the forefront of her life. She has been volunteering for as long as she can remember, but volunteering to help animals is the most important work she can do.
Though all of her volunteering experiences have been memorable, her time as a foster and in working with adoptions have been the highlight of her experience. Kathy says, “Taking little scared kittens and teaching them to trust and love people is so rewarding. Then being able to help them find loving homes and meet the wonderful people who love them as much as I do is the BEST.” Throughout her life, Kathy has always had pets. She grew up having dogs at home and she always had a dog with her as she traversed the globe while in the U.S. Air Force.
No matter where life takes her, Kathy says she will always return to Colorado no matter what. In her free time, she loves to hike, play cards, go for walks, read, work in the yard, travel and spend time with friends. Her future goals include continuing to foster and help adopt kittens and dogs to support Animal Friends Alliance in the best way she can. She will always have animals in her home and when she adopts again she plans to take in older cats and dogs who she can spend some chill time with.