Retiree Volunteered at the Animal Shelter

by Maggie
(Tennessee)

I am the type of person that always has to be busy. So when my veterinarian suggested that I volunteer at her animal shelter in Tucson Arizona, I quickly agreed.

Having four dogs, I have never seen myself as a cat person, but the animal shelter is full of cats.

I admit that I was a little intimidated by those small ferocious creatures and they seemed to know it. For the next few weeks, I was a nervous wreck around the cats and suffered several battle wounds from their attacks. I was told by cat people that the cats are just showing love, but I had my doubts.

Dogs just never seem to hiss and swat at innocent bystanders when they walked by, but these cats all but attacked. At one point, in the "˜Kitten Room", one of crazy kittens decided to climb my back and in doing so, left a couple of scratches.

I'd almost had enough when a little girl came in with her daddy and decided to adopt a monster cat named Heath. As I watched, Heath crawled into her lap and began purring as she gently stroked his fur. I felt a little guilty because I was threatening to use a can of mace on the devil cat and there he was, as gentle as a lamb.

As Heath was put into his carrier I decided that maybe I was a little harsh with him so I went to say goodbye. True to form Heath took one last swipe at my nose before the carrier door was closed. And as I watched that crazy cat leave with his new family, I felt really good about being part of a happy ending.

For those who know and understand animals, I would really recommend volunteering at local animal shelters.

The need there is great but so are the rewards.