Our "Best Friend" Honored Volunteer: Todd R.

I joined because my daughter, Amelia, wanted to volunteer but she was only 12 at the time. I was instantly hooked on the animals and spent a lot of time learning and getting close to the animals. The day I helped a family with a young child find their perfect dog and walk out the front door with that dog, was the day I realized that this was all I wanted to do. I have a full time job that pays our bills so when that is not getting in the way you will find me at Best Friends.

 

I started at the end of September in 2015.

 

I have a Pomeranian, who is the prince of our home. He doesn’t get the respect that he thinks he deserves from the cats but he deals with it without too much complaining. He was found running loose outside of a Staples and we were told by the security person that he had been there for a while. He was pretty badly matted but a quick trip to the groomer and he was good as new. We scanned him for a chip to no avail and put up signs but no one responded. He became our family member and we never looked back. Last year, my wife Kelli was in a CVS and a little kitten walked up to her and said take me home. She inquired at the check out and was told that one of the employees had a litter of kittens dropped over her fence. This one wasn’t adopted so she brought it into work with hopes someone would take it home. Kelli brought it home and into our hearts. Amelia named it Hotaru, which means firefly in Japanese. She is an adorable black kitten with a lot of personality. When my best friend Tilde passed away last year I needed to find a new friend to sit with me at night while I watched TV (This was before I started spending my evenings at Best Friends) I looked online for a Maine Coon and found a very shy girl that we named Ashi (paws in Japanese) After almost a year, she now finally sits with me for a few minutes each evening for a pet. I always say “I’m in it for the long haul”. If it  takes a few years to get back to what I had with Tilde then that that is what it will have to take. Our last cat is Jasmine. She adopted us many years ago. She is a strikingly beautiful gray cat that rules our back yard. She won’t every come inside and our other cats don’t every go outside. That is the way Jasmine likes it. One winter when it was raining we brought her in to our front room, away from our other pets, so that she could be warm. She hated it and we realized that she would never tolerate it. We have a covered patio and we put out blankets and some furniture for her to stay safe and out of the weather and that has made her happy. Our last pet is a leopard gecko. Not much to say but fun to photograph.