The Long of it
Karen Chapin has been volunteering for our Shelter the longest. She was born in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, went to a junior college in Virginia, and married a soldier and lived in Ansbach, Germany, for a year and a half. After several more moves, she found herself in the Northwest because the heat was so bad in California. She has two children and five grandchildren back East.
She was working as a health care provider when Pat Hammond got her involved during the planning and fundraising for the building of the Shelter. She was there when it opened in May of 1998 (without any animals, by the way; Tessie, the first adoptee, arrived a week or two later).
Since its beginning, Karen has been responsible for the laundry, which is a monumental job: washing, drying, folding, and keeping dog beds, towels, blankets, etc., in good repair. She is at the Shelter at least six days a week, and the laundry room is the cleanest and most organized place on the planet.
She is, of course, an animal lover, and has two dogs and four cats, one of whom is Domino, a former Shelter cat who just turned nine years old. He has the equivalent of feline cerebral palsy, and needs daily medication. He also needs a safe environment, one that will accommodate his unsteady gait. He is now nine years old, and is surely one of the most miraculous and affectionate cats ever. He loves to purr and snuggle, and has no idea that his behavior is unusual.
Karen’s contribution to the smooth running of the Shelter is huge, and we are so grateful for everything she does.
The Short of it
Camille Tyler has been a Shelter volunteer for the shortest amount of time; she joined us in October of last year.
Camille was born in Santa Monica, California, and grew up in West Los Angeles. She is legally blind; her Stargardt’s disease started when she was seven years old. This disease causes a genetic degeneration of the retina.
Before she came to the Northwest, she was a singer and guitar player, as well as a scenic designer, and has been involved, for a number of years, in the fiber arts, such as spinning, knitting, and tapestry; weaving is her specialty. She moved to the Northwest five months ago looking for a cooler, less crowded area. As a bonus, her eyes are less bothered by a relatively smaller quantity of sunshine.
It is helpful, of course, to be an animal lover if one wants to work at the Shelter, and Camille is no exception. She likes reptiles, birds, dogs, and cats best. When I asked her, “What pets do you have now ”, she replied, “A spider outside my window.” As soon as she finds her permanent home, she will once again be able to have pets. Her boyfriend, David, is a computer expert serving the Peninsula.
Camille provides a vital service to our kitty population: TLC. Whenever she is at the Shelter, she spends time with all the felines in the playroom, as well as the ones in cages all over the Shelter; it is no fun for a cat to be enclosed in a cage day after day, so Camille’s interaction with them, which includes brushing them, makes them feel a bit more cared for, and goes a long way towards socializing them. She also works with our canine friends.
We are so grateful to have Camille’s helpfulness and kitty care at the Shelter.
